Japan's household spending in May sank a record 16.2 percent from a year earlier as the government's stay-at-home request under the nationwide state of emergency, then in force over the coronavirus pandemic, dampened consumption, government data showed Tuesday.
It was the sharpest decline since comparable data first became available in January 2001, setting a record for the second month in a row following an 11.1 percent drop in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Spending in real terms by households with two or more people averaged ¥252,017 ($2,300), down for the eighth consecutive month since October last year, when the consumption tax rate was raised from 8 percent to 10 percent.