Japan Household Spending Slid Even Before Emergency Called

Japanese households cut monthly spending by the most in five years as the coronavirus started to spread more quickly in the weeks before the government called a state of emergency.

Spending fell 6% in March from a year earlier, dragged down by plunging outlays on entertainment and leisure, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday. Economists forecast an overall 6.5% decline. Spending has fallen six months straight, hit first by last year’s sales tax hike and now by the virus.