Industrial production in Japan contracted a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Wednesday's preliminary reading, cited by rttnews.

That missed forecasts for a decline of 4.0 percent following the 2.9 percent gain in December.

On a yearly basis, industrial production added 2.7 percent - again missing forecasts for 5.3 percent and down from 4.4 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production saying that it is picking up slowly.