Japan's household spending rose a real 0.7% in July from a year earlier, up for the first time in two months following a steep drop a year ago, but the pace of increase was slow amid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, government data showed Tuesday.
Average spending by households with two or more people was ¥267,710 ($2,400), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said, rebounding from a 7.6% plunge a year earlier.
"The increase was quite small, so it would be better to regard it as almost flat compared to the previous year," a ministry official told reporters, citing a resurgence of infections and the government's fourth virus state of emergency for Tokyo as possible reasons for the limited growth.