Japan FY 2024 household spending down for 2nd year amid rising prices

Japan's household spending in fiscal 2024 dropped a real 0.1 per cent from a year earlier, falling for the second consecutive year, as consumers reduced food expenditure amid rising prices, government data showed recently.

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Households of two or more people spent an average of 304,178 yen ($2,100) per month in the fiscal year ended March, according to the data, a key indicator of private consumption that accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.

The drop came as real wages in March fell 2.1 per cent from a year earlier for the third consecutive monthly decline, separate data showed, with income growth falling behind price hikes as a weak yen pushes up import costs and companies pass labour and other expenses on to consumers.

Some 39 per cent of people in Japan feel lonely at times, according to a recent government survey, with legislation that took effect in April last year to address isolation apparently not yet having a significant impact.

The percentage of people who either felt lonely “often or always,” “sometimes” or “once in a while” totalled 39.3 per cent in 2024, unchanged from the previous survey in 2023. The figure has remained largely unchanged since the study began in 2021.

Consumers in Japan reduced food expenditure amid rising prices.

The survey for the first time also examined the relationship between feelings of loneliness and smartphone usage. Among those who used smartphones for more than eight hours a day, 13.3 per cent said they felt lonely “often or always.”