People walk at the street following the end of the current coronavirus state of emergency restrictions in Tokyo, on Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's household spending fell a real 3.0 percent in August from a year earlier, as the government expanded a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic due to an infection resurgence, government data showed Friday.

       Average spending by households with two or more people in real terms was 266,638 yen ($2,400), following a 0.7 percent rise in July, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

       Seasonally adjusted spending in the reporting period fell for the fourth consecutive month, down 3.9 percent from July.

       With a resurgence of coronavirus infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, the most recent virus emergency was effective throughout August in Tokyo and the southern island prefecture of Okinawa, after being declared there in mid-July and late May, respectively.

       The measure was repeatedly expanded to cover 21 out of Japan's 47 prefectures at the end of August. With requests for people to stay at home and restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol and close early, the emergency dampened consumer spending. It was fully lifted last week.

       "In August, coronavirus infections spread throughout the nation at a record-breaking pace, which limited opportunities for many people to go out and led various shops to lose their customers," a ministry official told reporters, adding that heavy rain and low temperatures also suppressed consumption.

       Compared with the same month two years ago, before the pandemic, spending was down 9.5 percent, according to the official.

       By category, food costs slid 3.2 percent from the previous year as the virus emergency caused spending on eating out to plummet 13.4 percent.

       Meanwhile, demand for ready-made meals increased as many people are believed to have cooked less as they watched the Tokyo Olympics, held from July 23 through Aug. 8, on television, the official said.

       Transportation and telecommunication expenses saw a 3.4 percent drop, with car purchases sluggish as automakers were forced to reduce output amid a global semiconductor crunch as well as virus infection surges in Southeast Asia that hit car parts suppliers there.

       Outlays for culture and recreation dropped 3.9 percent.

       Outlays on accommodation plunged 34.4 percent, with spending a year earlier having been bolstered by a state-subsidized "Go To Travel" campaign launched a month earlier to boost the virus-hit domestic tourism sector. The promotion was suspended nationwide in December amid the spread of COVID-19.

       The average monthly income of salaried households with at least two people in August rose a real 5.4 percent to 555,009 yen.

       It had declined for the third successive month in July, mainly due to the adverse impact of the government's across-the-board cash handouts of 100,000 yen per person last year to ease the economic impact of the pandemic.

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

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