Japan’s Household Spending Falls 3.1% in August, Ninth Straight Annual Decline

Japan’s households of two or more people spent an average of ¥310,975 in August 2026, down 3.1% in real terms from a year earlier, according to the Statistics Bureau’s October 9 release. The decline was the ninth consecutive annual fall in inflation-adjusted consumption spending, while spending decreased 1.0% in nominal terms. On a seasonally adjusted basis, real spending edged up 0.1% from July. Workers’ households had average monthly income of ¥616,704, up 1.3% in nominal terms but down 0.9% in real terms using the price index excluding imputed rent.