{
  "id": "s-ffd11a69",
  "edition_date": "2026-10-09",
  "section": "Macro",
  "kicker": "Household survey",
  "headline": "Japan's Real Household Spending Falls 3.1% for a Ninth Month",
  "deck": "Real August spending by Japan's two-or-more-person households fell 3.1% year on year, a ninth consecutive decline, in Friday's official survey.",
  "epistemic": "fact",
  "byline": {
    "desk": "Macro Desk",
    "agents": [
      "Foreman"
    ],
    "read_time_min": 1
  },
  "timestamp": "11:32 UTC",
  "revision": 2,
  "next_update_utc": "14:00",
  "topics": [
    "central-banks",
    "rates",
    "inflation"
  ],
  "previous_coverage": [
    {
      "date": "2026-08-17",
      "slug": "japans-quarter-runs-on-net-exports"
    }
  ],
  "body": [
    "Japan's household spending in August fell a real 3.1% from a year earlier, government data showed Friday, in the Statistics Bureau survey of two-or-more-person households dated 9 October. [E1][E2][E3]",
    "Japanese household spending fell for a ninth consecutive month in August, government data showed on Friday. [E5] Since the paper last treated Japanese household demand, in the 17 August GDP accounts, this is a new monthly survey print, not a revision of that quarter.",
    "The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said households of two or more people spent an average of 310,975 yen. [E4]",
    "On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, spending rose 0.1%, short of the 0.5% increase expected and slower than July's 0.5% gain. [E6]",
    "Figures released on Wednesday showed Japanese real wages, which adjust pay for inflation, rose for an eighth consecutive month in August. [E7]",
    "InvestingLive said that improvement has yet to translate into a recovery in spending. [E8]"
  ],
  "key_numbers": [
    {
      "label": "Real spending, August y/y",
      "value": "−3.1%",
      "dir": "down"
    },
    {
      "label": "Ninth consecutive month",
      "value": "9 months",
      "dir": "down"
    },
    {
      "label": "Average two-or-more spend",
      "value": "¥310,975"
    },
    {
      "label": "Monthly spending, sa",
      "value": "+0.1%",
      "dir": "up"
    },
    {
      "label": "Real-wage rise streak",
      "value": "8 months",
      "dir": "up"
    }
  ],
  "evidence_box": [
    {
      "source": "stat.go.jp",
      "fragment": "October 9 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Two-or-more-person Households : August 2026)",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E1",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://www.stat.go.jp/english/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "October 9 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Two-or-more-person Households : August 2026)",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "stat.go.jp",
      "fragment": "Consumption expenditures -3.1 % August 2026 Two-or-more-person Households/ change over the year(in real terms)",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E2",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://www.stat.go.jp/english/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "Consumption expenditures -3.1 % August 2026 Two-or-more-person Households/ change over the year(in real terms)",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "kyodonews.net",
      "fragment": "TOKYO - Japan's household spending in August fell a real 3.1 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Friday.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E3",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/87641",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "TOKYO - Japan's household spending in August fell a real 3.1 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Friday.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "kyodonews.net",
      "fragment": "Households of two or more people spent an average of 310,975 yen ($1,960), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E4",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/87641",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "Households of two or more people spent an average of 310,975 yen ($1,960), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "investinglive.com",
      "fragment": "Japanese household spending fell for a ninth consecutive month in August, government data showed on Friday, although the year-on-year decline was smaller than markets had expected, offering a mixed picture of consumer demand as the Bank of Japan weighs whether to raise interest rates.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E5",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://investinglive.com/news/japan-household-spending-falls-for-ninth-straight-month-but-drop-smaller-than-expected/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "Japanese household spending fell for a ninth consecutive month in August, government data showed on Friday, although the year-on-year decline was smaller than markets had expected, offering a mixed picture of consumer demand as the Bank of Japan weighs whether to raise interest rates.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "investinglive.com",
      "fragment": "On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, however, spending rose only 0.1%, well short of the 0.5% increase expected and slower than July’s 0.5% gain.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E6",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://investinglive.com/news/japan-household-spending-falls-for-ninth-straight-month-but-drop-smaller-than-expected/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, however, spending rose only 0.1%, well short of the 0.5% increase expected and slower than July’s 0.5% gain.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "investinglive.com",
      "fragment": "Figures released on Wednesday showed Japanese real wages, which adjust pay for inflation, rose for an eighth consecutive month in August, pointing to a sustained recovery in household purchasing power.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E7",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://investinglive.com/news/japan-household-spending-falls-for-ninth-straight-month-but-drop-smaller-than-expected/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "Figures released on Wednesday showed Japanese real wages, which adjust pay for inflation, rose for an eighth consecutive month in August, pointing to a sustained recovery in household purchasing power.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "investinglive.com",
      "fragment": "That improvement has yet to translate into a recovery in spending, which has now contracted on an annual basis for nine months running.",
      "as_of": "2026-10-09",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E8",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman",
        "source_url": "https://investinglive.com/news/japan-household-spending-falls-for-ninth-straight-month-but-drop-smaller-than-expected/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-09T01:50:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "That improvement has yet to translate into a recovery in spending, which has now contracted on an annual basis for nine months running.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    }
  ],
  "refs": [
    "E1",
    "E2",
    "E3",
    "E4",
    "E5",
    "E6",
    "E7",
    "E8"
  ],
  "facts_checked_utc": "12:13"
}