Women raise their glasses at a beer garden on the rooftop of the Matsuya Ginza department store on June 28, 2021, in Tokyo's Ginza district. (Mainichi/Ayane Matsuyama)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's household spending in May jumped 11.6 percent from a year earlier, following a sharp increase the previous month, as it continued to rebound from a slump last year caused by the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.

       Average spending by households with two or more people in real terms stood at 281,063 yen ($2,500), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The year-on-year gain was the second-largest since comparable data became available in January 2001, following a 13.0 percent spike in April.

       Spending expanded for the third month in a row, starting with a 6.2 percent rise in March.

       In May 2020, household spending plunged a record 16.2 percent due to the government's first state of emergency over the pandemic, declared the previous month for Tokyo and six other prefectures and later expanded nationwide.

       Requesting people to stay at home and nonessential businesses to suspend operations, the measure dealt a heavy blow to consumption until it was fully lifted in late May last year.

       On a seasonally-adjusted month-to-month basis, however, spending in the reporting month fell 2.1 percent from April for the first decline in four months.

       A ministry official told reporters the nation's third virus emergency, effective from late April through mid-June for Tokyo, is believed to have weighed on private consumption.

       In addition, when compared with a pre-pandemic level of May 2019, the latest average spending figure dropped a real 6.5 percent, the official said, expressing the view that the pandemic continues to affect consumption.

       By component, outlays on transportation and communication surged 23.5 percent from a year ago, the biggest contributor to the overall outcome, supported by brisk purchases of cars and mobile phones. Spending on culture and recreation soared 24.0 percent as more people took trips and went to entertainment facilities than last year.

       Expenditure on housing rose 28.9 percent and that on clothing and shoes increased 13.0 percent, also in reaction to the previous year's plummets.

       Meanwhile, utility costs dipped 2.4 percent due to the previous year's high temperatures that increased power demand, the official said. Spending on furniture and household items, which include sanitizers and wet wipes, shrank 2.6 percent.

       The average monthly income of salaried households with at least two people in May was down a real 2.6 percent from a year ago to 489,019 yen, as last year's income was boosted by 100,000 yen per person cash handouts by the government to help households cope with the pandemic. It followed a 2.8 percent rise the previous month.

       Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0