Pyongyang, October 22 (KCNA) -- Crude steel production in September fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 8.88 million tons, an industry body said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Japan's department store sales in September dropped 2.4 percent from a year earlier on a same-store basis for the third straight month of decline partly because lingering late-summer heat dissuaded people from buying autumn clothing.