Japan’s Households Slash Cash at Record Pace as Inflation Bites

Japan’s households reduced their collective stash of cash at the fastest pace on record last quarter as they sought to cope with rising costs of living, according to the latest data by the Bank of Japan.

Citizens’ holdings of cash slipped to ¥105.3 trillion ($707 billion) in the three months ended in December, down 3.4% from a year earlier in the biggest drop in the data going back to 1998, according to a quarterly flow of funds report published Friday by the central bank.