Getting Japan to Spend
Consumer spending is on the rise in Japan after years of deflation. Still most of the effects are at the top of the income distribution where the benefits of a weaker yen have stimulated export growth and a rise in stock prices.
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There are some signs that after years of penny-pinching, conspicuous spending is on the rise again in Japan. But for now, it is starting at the very top, among the financiers, professionals and other well-to-do Japanese who have benefited from the recent stock market gains.
Sales of Ferrari cars in Japan have jumped almost 20 percent so far this year, figures from the Japan Automobile Importers Association show, thanks to this newfound exuberance among the nation’s rich.
For younger Japanese, living frugally has become a way of life. Shinsuke Nagata, 34, and his girlfriend, Yoko Sutani, 29, came to shop at [luxury department store] Hankyu Umeda, but ended up buying only $4 coffees at a stand in the store’s atrium.
“All this talk of Abenomics doesn’t really apply to us yet. Hopefully it doesn’t just stop with the rich people,” said Mr. Nagata, who is a freelance graphic designer.
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