Department store sales in Japan in 2024 totaled 5.75 trillion yen, surpassing the pre-coronavirus pandemic levels of 2019 amid inbound tourism boom, data by an industry body showed Friday.

Sales on a same-store basis increased 6.8 percent from 2023, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. Duty-free sales surged 85.9 percent to 648.7 billion yen, hitting a record high for the second straight year, according to the Japan Department Stores Association.

Department stores saw the return of customers come into full swing toward the end of 2023 after the government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza. The number of foreign visitors to Japan also sharply rose the following year.

An association official attributed the "return of travelers from mainland China" as a major factor that pushed up sales.

Helped by a weak yen, luxury brands and jewelry sold well among duty-free items in 2024. Japanese traditional crafts were also popular.

Demand was also strong from Japan's wealthy population, with sales of clothing exceeding food for the first time in five years, the association said.

In Japan's 10 major cities, including Tokyo and Osaka, department store sales grew 9.1 percent in 2024 from a year earlier.

Stores in other cities, however, dropped 0.5 percent amid a scale-down of sales space in stores as part of structural reform efforts, even though they have also benefited from the increasing number of foreign tourists.

In December alone, department store sales on a same-store basis gained 2.8 percent from a year before, up for the second straight month as demand for winter clothing increased due to a drop in temperature.