Japan's machine tool orders increased for the eighth straight month in May, though at a slower pace amid weaker domestic demand, preliminary data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association, or JMTBA, showed on Tuesday.
Machine tool orders climbed 3.4 percent year-on-year in May, after rising 7.7 percent in the previous month.
Foreign orders grew 6.7 percent from last year, while domestic demand was down by 5.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, machine tool orders fell 11.2 percent, following a 13.8 percent plunge in April.