Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released its housing starts data on Friday. Housing starts in Japan fell 1.3% year-on-year in December, missing expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 1.7% increase in November.
On a yearly basis, housing starts were down to 860,000 in December from 879,000 in November.
Construction orders jumped 14.8% year-on-year in December, after 5.7% rise in November.