(MENAFN) According to a report by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan's retail sales by value dropped 4.4 percent to USD106 billion over a year earlier, QNA reported. Last month's decrease was mainly attributed to the consumption tax hike which increased from 5 percent to 8 percent in April. The decline was the first in nine months, marking the largest reduction since the 8 percent decrease in March of 2011 which followed the earthquake disaster.