Major Japanese department store operators said Monday their sales in May dived up to about 80 percent from year-earlier levels as many of their outlets shut or reduced business hours under a nationwide state of emergency over the novel coronavirus.
However, the margins of the falls were narrower than in April because department stores resumed operations after Prime Minister
Meanwhile,
Many department stores across the country had shut except food sections in a bid to curb the spread of the pneumonia-causing virus until Abe lifted the state of emergency, issued in April, in 39 prefectures on
The operators gradually reopened their stores in regional areas following the lifting of the emergency, but many of those in the
On Monday,
Those of operator
It fully reopened its outlets in the
==Kyodo
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