STORY: Japan household spending edges up 0.1 pct in July
SHOOTING TIME: May 2, 2024
DATELINE: Sept. 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:03
LOCATION: Tokyo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of apartments and houses in Tokyo

STORYLINE:

Japan's household spending in July rose 0.1 percent from a year earlier in inflation-adjusted real terms, up for the first time in three months, the internal affairs ministry reported on Friday.
   
Average spending by households with two or more members came to 290,931 yen (about 2,029 U.S. dollars) in July, as higher wages drove outlays on home renovations and entertainment, the ministry said.

By category, expenditures on culture and recreation, such as TV sets and travel, rose 5.6 percent. Spending on television sets soared 74.2 percent due to high demand for watching the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic games. Spending on domestic package tours jumped 47.0 percent while those for overseas package tours surged 62.6 percent, data showed.
   
Meanwhile, expenditures on food, which account for around 30 percent of spending, fell 1.7 percent, with more households reducing their purchases of expensive beef and pork to buy chicken.
   
Spending on electricity and gas dropped 4.6 percent as people cut back on their usage after government subsidies for energy bills were temporarily discontinued.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tokyo.
(XHTV)