Japan Households Cut Spending in December Before Emergency

Japan’s household spending edged down in December, falling for the first time in three months, before the spread of coronavirus forced the government to call another state of emergency early this year.

Less spending on transportation and eating out were big factors pushing the overall figure down 0.6% compared with the prior year, with increasing outlays on furniture and education keeping the number from being worse, the ministry of internal affairs reported Friday. Economists had forecast a steeper overall fall of 1.8%.