Tax hike hits Japanese demand deeper than expected in August

New car sales in Japan fell more than expected last month, with early figures from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association showing a 5% fall in registered cars to 206,606 units and a 15.1% fall in mini-cars to 126,865 units. August's disappointing performance follows months of more moderate decline since the increase in sales tax (from 5% to 8%) came into effect on 1 April this year.