Convenience store sales in Japan rose 1.2 percent in May from a year earlier, helped by an increase in foreign visitors to Japan, an industry body said Thursday.
The same-store sales of seven major convenience store operators totaled 947.70 billion yen ($6 billion), eclipsing the previous year's figures for the sixth straight month, according to the Japan Franchise Association.
The number of shoppers increased to 1.33 billion, up 1.7 percent year-on-year, marking the second consecutive month of increase, while average spending per customer dropped by 0.5 percent to 713 yen.
Freshly brewed coffee, fried foods and "onigiri" rice balls were among popular purchases, the association said.
