Tokyo, Aug 8 (IANS) Japan’s household spending in June increased a real 1.3 percent from a year earlier, rising for the second straight month, driven by spending on automobiles and electricity bills, government data showed on Friday.
Households of two or more people spent an average of 295,419 yen (about $2,006) in the reporting month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Xinhua News Agency reported.
By category, outlays for transportation and communication rose 8.6 per cent, while expenditures on energy and water climbed 6.3 per cent, due in part to increased use of air conditioners during the summer heat, the ministry said.
Spending on food, meanwhile, dropped 2.1 per cent, down for the first time in three months, led by a 12.1 per cent decline in rice spending as people bought less or chose cheaper grain after releases from government stockpiles earlier this year.
Accounting for more than half of Japan’s gross domestic product, household spending is a key gauge of private consumption in the country.
Meanwhile, Japan’s native population declined by about 908,000 in 2024, the steepest drop since records began in 1968, the latest official data revealed on Wednesday.
According to a demographics survey released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of Japanese nationals stood at 120,653,227 as of January 1, 2025. The population has now been falling for 16 consecutive years.
The overall population, including foreign residents, was 124,330,690 — down by about 554,000 from the previous year.
While the native population continues to shrink, the number of foreign residents rose to a record 3,677,463. This marks an increase of 354,089 people, or 10.65 per cent, from the previous year. Foreign nationals have been counted in the survey since 2013, reported Japan’s leading Kyodo news agency.
Hokkaido recorded the highest growth in foreign residents at 19.57 per cent. Around 85.77 per cent of foreign nationals are of working age, filling labour gaps caused by the country’s ageing and declining population.
–IANS
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