Japanese industrial production fell 1.2 per cent in December, but economists said they did not expect the recent slowdown to lead to a serious downturn.
Other data today showed the jobless rate at a six-year low, supporting views that Japan's economy was still in a recovery phase, though losing its momentum of early last year.
The monthly fall in output, released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), was in line with a consensus forecast for a 1.3 per cent drop.
The data showed factories were adjusting production of electronic parts used in a wide range of high-tech products such as camera-installed mobile phones and digital cameras.
Slower automobile production due to tight steel supplies and a fire at a Mazda Motor Co. plant also affected the numbers.
"There are some temporary factors involved, and we don't have the impression that production is very weak," a ministry official said, repeating the government's assessment last month that output was in a flat trend.