Retail sales in Japan were up a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on month in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry cited by rttnews.

That missed forecasts for 0.3 percent but was unchanged from the January reading following a downward revision from 0.5 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales added just 0.1 percent - again shy of expectations for 0.7 percent and down from 1.0 percent in the previous month.

Sales from large retailers sank an annual 2.7 percent versus forecasts for a fall of 1.8 percent after sliding 1.1 percent a month earlier.