document: Disaster takes toll on auto , department store sales in March TOKYO -LRB- Kyodo -RRB- - The devastating March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami took a toll on sales of new motor vehicles and merchandise at major department stores , according to data released Friday . Sales of new vehicles including minivehicles in Japan totaled 437,599 units in March , down 35.1 percent from a year earlier and marking the sharpest percentage point fall on record for the month due to the disaster that devastated northeastern and eastern Japan , industry bodies said . The percentage decline , the biggest since auto sales data began to be compiled in 1968 , beat the previous record fall of 33.3 percent in March 1974 , according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association . Japan 's worst-ever disaster forced automakers to temporarily suspend production and discouraged consumers from shopping even in areas that were not affected by it . Isetan Co. , a major department store under the wing of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. , said sales in March plunged 23.5 percent from a year earlier . Mitsukoshi Ltd. , which also belongs to the holding company , reported a year-on-year drop of 22.8 percent in sales for the month . Takashimaya Co. suffered a sales decline of 16.8 percent , while J. Front Retailing Co. , which has Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores under its umbrella , incurred a drop of 9.6 percent . The automobile dealers association said pre-quake inventories were running out and sales in April may therefore be lower than March . The industry body expressed hope for carmakers to resume full-scale production promptly . In March , sales of new cars , other than minivehicles with engine displacements of up to 660 cc , plunged 37.0 percent to 279,389 units for the all-time sharpest percentage point decline and the seventh straight month of fall . Sales fell short of 300,000 units for the first time in 37 years . Sales of minivehicles dived 31.6 percent to 158,210 units for the second sharpest percentage point fall and the sixth straight month of decline . In fiscal 2010 ended Thursday , new car sales , including those of minivehicles , totaled 4,601,136 units , down 5.7 percent from the previous year in the first yearly contraction in two years .
extractive_keyphrases: 37 isetan co 2010 279389 168 march plunged 235 percent 333 percent in march 1974 316 228 158210 seventh straight month of fall 57 4601136 holdings ltd 437599 300000 takashimaya co mitsukoshi ltd 96 370 march 11 earthquake front retailing co 660 1968 351 production disaster automobile dealers association previous including percent matsuzakaya department totaled shopping department minivehicles ensuing tsunami sales daimaru discouraged consumers eastern japan
abstractive_keyphrases: tokyo kyodo earthquake