consumer spending

Business / Economy Oct 9, 2020

Bank of Japan upgrades assessments on eight of nine regional economies

Of the nine regions, only Shikoku saw the assessment maintained from the previous report in July.

Business / Economy Sep 8, 2020

Japan's economy watcher sentiment in August highest in 11 months

The latest reading was up for the fourth consecutive month with retail, housing, manufacturing and employment related indexes showing a notable rise.

Business / Corporate Aug 10, 2020

Department stores push yukata as online pandemic party attire

The pandemic has caused many summer festivals and fireworks shows in the country to be canceled.

Business / Economy Aug 7, 2020

Household spending data signals recovery in Japan from spring coronavirus slump

The figure fell compared on the year for the ninth straight month, continuing the trend that began in October when the consumption tax rate was raised to 10 percent.

Business / Corporate Jul 31, 2020

Amazon plows through pandemic with record profits

The firm is one of the few to have kept operating during the pandemic, and has invested in COVID-19 business mitigation measures.

Business / Economy | FOCUS Jul 27, 2020

Coronavirus resurgence endangers Japan’s economic recovery scenario

by Kazuaki Nagata

Consumer mood may be headed for another downward swing, which would be devastating for companies that barely survived the initial pandemic damage.

Business / Corporate Jul 20, 2020

June convenience store sales fall 5.2% due to virus impact

The number of shoppers fell 11.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.25 billion, while average spending per person rose 7.3 percent to ¥669.6.

Business / Economy | FOCUS Jul 17, 2020

Chinese prefer to save money amid coronavirus crisis

by Tomoyuki Tachikawa

Retail sales of consumer goods plunged 11.4 percent, and the total value of imports dropped 3.3 percent in the first half of this year.

Business / Corporate Jul 10, 2020

Muji U.S.A. files for bankruptcy, citing pandemic shutdowns

Muji’s U.S. unit joins more than 110 companies that have declared bankruptcy in the U.S. this year and blamed the coronavirus crisis in part for their demise.

Business / Economy Jun 29, 2020

May retail sales fell sharply in Japan as emergency declaration stunted demand

Some analysts fear uncertainty about the economy and last year's tax hike could make consumers save more and spend less.

Business Jun 24, 2020

Cashless payments make up record 26.8% in Japan in 2019

Payments by credit cards made up 24 percent of the total household spending, up 2.1 points.

Business / Economy Jun 15, 2020

Consumption in Japan began coronavirus comeback around second half of May, survey shows

The survey, based anonymized credit credit card settlement data, shows activitiy at restaurants picked up sharply, with department stores and pubs not far behind.