Japan's Household Spending Falls 6.1% In Jan.
Japan's consumers held back on spending for the second-straight month in January, as a resurgence in coronavirus cases kept people close to home.
A survey by the internal affairs ministry shows that households with two or more people spent an average of 267,760 yen, or about 2,500 dollars. That's down 6.1 percent from a year earlier, adjusted for inflation.
Spending on travelling and eating out were hit especially hard by the government's declared state of emergency.
Not all sectors of the economy suffered. Consumers snapped up household appliances such as air-purifiers. They also spent more on frozen food and other supermarket items.
Officials at the ministry say the impact of the current state of emergency can be limited, compared with the first declaration last year. But they say they will carefully monitor any effects.