Japan's factory output likely fell in May, underscoring patchy recovery: Reuters poll Toggle share menu Advertisement Japan's factory output likely fell in May, underscoring patchy recovery: Reuters poll Japan's factory output likely fell in May while retail sales rose for a third straight month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, highlighting the uneven recovery in the world's third largest economy from the COVID-19 pandemic. FILE PHOTO: Steam is emitted from JFE's steel factory in Yokohama, Japan February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo 25 Jun 2021 11:55AM Share this content Bookmark TOKYO: Japan's factory output likely fell in May while retail sales rose for a third straight month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, highlighting the uneven recovery in the world's third largest economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.