Average household spending in the April-June period rose a real 1.1 percent from the same period in 2001 to 300,802 yen, marking the first rise in five quarters, the government said Friday.
This increase in the key gauge of personal consumption follows year-on-year declines of 1.3 percent in the January-March quarter of fiscal 2001, 2.1 percent in the October-December quarter, 2.1 percent in the July-September quarter and 3.2 percent in the April-June quarter.
The 1.1 percent rise reflects increased spending on transportation and communications, food, education and housing, according to the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.
Per-household spending on clothes and shoes rose 1.9 percent to 15,228 yen in the April-June period, up for the first time in 11 quarters.
In June alone, average household spending rose a real 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 290,155 yen.
This rise follows a year-on-year decline of 1.6 percent in May and a gain of 1.9 percent in April. It represents a seasonally adjusted increase of 3 percent from May.
The 2.8 percent rise is smaller than the 3.4 percent increase in spending by wage-earning households in June that was reported earlier.
Per-household spending on transportation and communications rose 16 percent from a year earlier to 34,937 yen.
Japan was hosting the World Cup soccer finals in June.
Household spending accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's gross domestic product, with outlays by wage-earning households making up 60 percent of total household spending.