Tuesday, March 10, 2026
0830 JST (2350 GMT/1830 EST Monday, March 9) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications releases the January average household spending.
Mace News median forecasts: +1.8% y/y (range: +0.6% to +5.2%) vs. Dec -2.6%; +0.6% m/m (range: -0.4% to +2.9%) vs. Dec -2.9%
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO (MaceNews) – Japan’s real household spending is expected to rebound on the year in January as spending on services is believed to have increased amid higher winter bonuses, while the government’s measures to curb energy prices helped create room for households to increase spending.
Household expenditure in January appears to have recovered across a wide range of areas, including automobiles, food and beverages, and textiles, apparel and personal goods. Still, consumption of nondurable goods remained weak due to the continued rise in food prices.
Household spending is expected to rise 1.8 percent on the year in January after declining 2.6 percent a month earlier. December’s fall was partly a reaction to the previous month’s jump in automobile purchases. In addition, there was a drop in another volatile item, home maintenance and repairs. Even the core measure of expenditures (excluding housing, motor vehicles and remittances) fell 1.5%, indicating that consumers remain frugal.
On a month-on-month basis, household spending is expected to rise 0.6 percent in January, rebounding from a 2.9 percent fall a month earlier.