The total value of retail sales in Japan was up 4.6 percent on month in August, the ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday - coming in at 12.419 trillion yen.
That beat expectations for an increase of 1.0 percent following the downwardly revised 3.4 percent drop in July (originally -3.3 percent).
On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 1.9 percent - again exceeding expectations for a fall of 3.5 percent after slipping a downwardly revised 2.9 percent in the previous month (originally -28 percent).
Commercial sales were up 1.4 percent on month and down 12.4 percent in August, while wholesale sales rose 0.8 percent on month and lost 16.6 percent on year.
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