Feb 07 (Japan Today) - Japan's average monthly spending by households in 2020 fell a real 5.3 percent from the previous year, marking the sharpest drop on record, as people refrained from going out due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Friday.
The decline was the largest since comparable data became available in 2001, topping a 2.9 percent decrease logged in 2014 when the consumption tax was raised to 8 percent from 5 percent in April that year, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Monthly household spending with two or more people averaged 277,926 yen last year, it said. The figure had increased a real 0.9 percent in 2019 following a 0.4 percent fall in 2018.
By category, declines in outlays for culture and recreation contributed most to the overall drop, diving 18.1 percent, while spending on transportation and communication fell 8.6 percent as consumers shied away from face-to-face services.
Within the former category, spending on domestic and overseas package tours plunged 61.9 percent and 85.8 percent, respectively. Expenses on air travel tumbled 76.1 percent and train tickets 60.9 percent.
Expenditure on drinking at bars and elsewhere outside the home plummeted 53.9 percent, while spending on eating out was down 25.4 percent.
Meanwhile, spending on sanitary goods such as face masks soared 79.3 percent.
