People walk on a street lined with restaurants and shops in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Nov. 25, 2021. (Mainichi/Takehiko Onishi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's household spending fell a real 1.3 percent in November from a year earlier for the fourth straight month of decrease, reflecting lower expenditure on food and energy as more people went out amid a fall in new coronavirus cases, the government said Friday.

       Average spending by households with two or more people was 277,029 yen ($2,400), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

       Following the complete lifting of the coronavirus state of emergency on Oct. 1, daily new COVID-19 cases remained low in the reporting month and more people went out. The Omicron coronavirus variant was first confirmed in Japan on Nov. 30.

       "Since opportunities to go out increased, spending on transportation and clothes expanded, but stay-at-home demand fell and expenditure on food and electricity was lower," a ministry official told reporters.

       By component, spending on food such as vegetables, seafood and meat declined 3.0 percent from a year earlier as more people dined out rather than cooked at home.

       Although spending on eating out has shown some recovery, it fell 3.0 percent from a year earlier, contributing to the overall decline in food expenditure, following a 4.0 percent drop in October.

       The pace of decrease for such spending was slower than those logged under the state of emergency, when restaurants were asked to close earlier and refrain from serving alcohol. In September, expenditure on dining out plunged 20.1 percent on year.

       Outlays on energy and water bills dropped 7.1 percent, led by falls in electricity bills as people spent less time at home.

       Spending for housing decreased 15.8 percent in reaction to the previous year's expansion. When housing expenses and other volatile factors such as money given for gifts are excluded, overall consumption was nearly flat from the previous year at a 0.7 percent decline, the official said.

       Meanwhile, spending on clothing and footwear climbed 8.9 percent, led by women's coats as the temperature fell in late November. Transportation spending, including rail fares and expressway tolls, grew 5.8 percent.

       On a month-to-month basis, spending in November fell a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent from October, down for the first time in three months.

       The average monthly income of salaried households with at least two people advanced a real 1.1 percent in November from a year earlier to 481,838 yen, rising for a fourth consecutive month.

       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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