AI Data Insight
In May 2026 (Q2), the average nominal expenditure of Japanese households with two or more people reached a year-on-year growth rate of 1.3%, continuing to expand from the previous 1.0%. Although real expenditure declined slightly by 0.4% YoY due to inflation, the pace of decline has narrowed for several consecutive months and significantly beat market expectations, with the month-on-month growth rate hitting a half-year high. Benefiting from the realization of the "Shunto" (spring wage offensive) wage hike effects, Japanese workers' real income turned positive, demonstrating the strong resilience of domestic consumption bottoming out and recovering.