Japan's Retail Sales Growth Accelerated, Toyota's Global Sales Dropped In May

Akira Ito
29 Jun, 2026
Tokyo

Japan's benchmark indexes dropped in Monday's trading amid renewed clashes between the U.S. and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Nikkei 225 decreased more than 1%, and the broader TOPIX decreased 0.4%, and the yen weakened to 161.79 against the U.S. dollar. 

International crude oil prices hovered around $72 a barrel after U.S. and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, but both sides agreed to cease hostilities ahead of the next round of talks later this week in Doha, Qatar. 

Closer to home, Japan's retail sales rose for the third consecutive month in May, driven by the government's stimulus plan and rising wages. 

Retail sales increase accelerated to an annual pace of 5.3% from the upwardly revised 2.8% in the previous month, according to a report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. 

Sales of automobiles soared 23.7%, machinery and equipment surged 14.5%, department stores increased 6.9%, and food and beverages inched higher by 2.4%. 

However, non-store sales decreased 4.2%, fuel declined 2.6%, and apparel and personal goods inched lower by 0.7%.

On a monthly basis, retail sales increased 1.9%, slower than the upwardly revised 2.1% in April, which was the fastest increase in four months.

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 1.1%, and the broader TOPIX declined 0.4% to 3,947.12. 

Semiconductor- and AI-linked stocks eased on Monday amid growing worries that the elevated level of investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure is not sustainable. 

Kioxia Holdings decreased 6.1% to ¥86,470.0, SoftBank Group fell 5.1% to ¥5,905.0, Tokyo Electron edged up 1.5% to ¥74,060.0, and Advantest Corp. dropped 1.7% to ¥31,860.0. 

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial decreased 1% to ¥6,327.0, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropped 1.5% to ¥3,195.0, and Mizuho Financial declined 1.4% to ¥7,689.0. 

Nippon Yusen decreased 1.5% to ¥5,184.0, Mitsui OSK Lines added 0.5% to ¥5,243.0, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha fell 0.6% to ¥2,445.50. 

Toyota Motor Corp declined 0.5% to ¥2,755.50, and the vehicle maker said its global sales in May declined 7.2% from a year ago to 834,279 units. 

Global sales decreased for the fourth consecutive month, largely because of the sluggish demand in China amid the Middle East conflict. 

Toyota's exports to the Middle East plunged 66% to 7,323, declining for the fourth consecutive month because of the supply disruptions following the regional conflict.