Japan's Wives Limit Salarymen's Spending Money in Abenomics Era
- Monthly pocket money drops to third-lowest level since 1979
- Difficult to keep up with cost of lunch, even amid deflation
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Japan’s long-suffering salaried workers, famous for toiling prolonged hours, have found no relief under the Abenomics reflation program, recording two of the three worst years when it comes to their monthly pocket money.
Pocket money, often set by wives who in Japan control family budgets, in 2016 stood at 37,873 yen ($370) per month on average, the third-lowest level since the survey started in 1979, according to Shinsei Bank Ltd., a Tokyo-based lender. Last year was the second-lowest monthly amount; the worst year was 1982.