Japanese industrial production fell 1.1 percent in June from a month earlier, marking the first month-on-month drop in four months, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said in a report on Thursday.

The decline in the recording month surpassed media expectations for a 1.5 percent fall and following a revised fall of 1.5 percent in May.

According to the report, passenger cars, semiconductors and steel led the decline in June.

The production drop in June was the first since a 0.6 percent slump in February. Output had already begun to show signs of slowing with a 0.1 percent gain logged in May, following rises of 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent in March, METI said.

According to the data, in the April-June quarter industrial production rose a revised 1.5 percent from the previous quarter, up slightly from a preliminary reading of a 1.4 percent gain.

This marks the fifth successive quarter gain, but the output rate has slowed markedly since the 7.0 percent surge in the first quarter of this year and a 5.9 percent leap in the final quarter of 2009.

For the upcoming quarter the government now estimates a rise of a revised 0.4 percent from a preliminary forecast of a 2.0 percent increase from the previous quarter.

Shipments in the recording month increased a revised 0.2 percent from a preliminary drop of 0.2 percent and METI cited increases in general machinery, foods beverages, tobacco and transport equipment as driving the index up.

Inventories in June stood at an unrevised 0.7 percent following May's 2.0 percent climb, marking the third straight monthly rise.