Four major Japanese department store operators Friday posted record sales declines of 70% to 80% for April from a year before on a same-store basis, as they shut down across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sales by Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings dropped 81.3%, and J. Front Retailing, which runs Daimaru and Matsuzakaya stores, had a 79.1% sales fall. Takashimaya’s sales fell 74.7% and Sogo & Seibu, a unit of Seven & i Holdings, saw its sales drop 71.4%. Their duty-free sales almost disappeared as the number of visitors to Japan fell sharply due to the pandemic.