Daily Times

Japan’s household spending dropped nearly four percent in May from a year earlier, government data showed Friday, underlining an ongoing lack of appetite for consumption in the world’s third-largest economy.

The country’s household spending fell 3.9 percent in May, far worse than market expectations of a 1.5 percent decline, the internal affairs ministry said.

The drop marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline, and suggests hopes for a rise in consumption are unlikely to be met anytime soon.

The government and central bank have said repeatedly that export-led economic growth in the country’s corporate sector would eventually spread to domestic consumption.

But a recovery in spending has been slow, with economists saying salaries are not rising fast enough to drive an appetite for buying.

Consumers were particularly reluctant to spend on eating out, recreation and cultural activities, and clothing and footwear, according to the ministry data.

Published in Daily Times, July 7^th 2018.