Japan Household Spending Falls 2.9 Pct in March

Tokyo, May 12 (Jiji Press)–Japanese household spending fell 2.9 pct in March from a year earlier in inflation-adjusted real terms, as consumers cut food spending amid inflation concerns linked to the war in Iran, the internal affairs ministry said Tuesday. The average spending by households with two or more people stood at 334,701 yen, falling for the fourth straight month. Food spending slipped 2.9 pct. Dining-out expenditures fell 2.9 pct, the first drop in six months, partly because higher gasoline prices discouraged travel by car. Automobile-related spending dropped 27 pct, as car buyers delayed purchases ahead of the abolishment at the end of March of the environmental performance tax on vehicles. Alcohol purchases dropped 19.8 pct, after consumers rushed to buy beer and quasi-beer products a year earlier, prior to industrywide price hikes in April last year. By contrast, spending on domestic nondurable goods rose 3.7 pct, the first rise in 10 months. People appear to have stockpiled plastic bags, plastic food wraps and toilet paper out of concerns about supply shortages and higher prices. In fiscal 2025, which ended in March, average household spending rose 0.1 pct from the previous year to 313,702 yen, the first increase in three years. The increase was supported partly by the fading fallout from automakers’ testing scandals, as well as amusement and recreation spending related to the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka. Replacement purchases for personal computers also rose ahead of the end of support for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 10 operating system last October. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]