Japan Household Spending Down 3.2 ％ in FY 2023

Jiji Press

17:16 JST, May 10, 2024

Tokyo, May 10 (Jiji Press)—Japanese household spending in fiscal 2023, which ended in March, dropped 3.2 % from the previous year in price-adjusted real terms, the first fall in three years, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry Friday.

The average monthly consumption expenditures at households comprising two or more members stood at ¥294,116 .

Spending fell in all 10 categories, including food and utilities, affected by higher prices.

While overall spending grew when compared with the average of ¥291,235 in fiscal 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, a ministry official said that “consumption expenditures have not returned to pre-pandemic levels” if inflation is taken into consideration.

Spending on food sagged 1.9 %. The Engel’s coefficient, which indicates the share of food costs in household expenditures, has been on the rise, as food prices have been increasing at a slightly faster pace than prices of other items.

Expenditures on utilities went down 3.7 % and those on housing dropped 6..9 %.

In March alone, household spending averaged ¥318,713 , down 1.2 % from a year earlier, logging a decline for 13 straight months.

While spending on cars and that on dining out grew 44.5 % and 8.7 %, respectively, electricity bills decreased 19.2 % due to warmer temperatures.