Japan Household Spending

Household spending in Japan declined 2.6% yoy in December 2025, missing market expectations for a flat reading and marking a deeper contraction after a 2.9% drop in the previous month. The latest result indicated that consumer demand remained fragile at the end of the year amid elevated living costs. The sustained weakness in personal consumption underscores ongoing challenges for Japan’s economic recovery and adds to concerns that private demand may struggle to gain momentum despite supportive monetary conditions. Monthly, personal spending fell 2.9%, underperforming forecasts of 1.3% decrease and swinging from a 6.2% jump in November, which had marked the strongest monthly rise since March 2021.