Mobile-phone sales in Japan fell 0.8 percent in the first half of 2005, a research group said Wednesday.

Gartner Japan, which specializes in researching information-technology issues, reported that sales fell to 21.96 million units.

The most popular manufacturer was NEC with 16.2 percent of the total market, while Panasonic came in second with 15.2 percent. Sharp ranked in at third place.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International