TOKYO- Japanese mother of three Maiko Takahashi was never one to pinch pennies or accept hand-me-downs for her children even though circumstances for her single-income family have always been fairly modest.
But times have changed. Nowadays, she has no trouble with used clothes and her pursuit of bargains and scrimping on the most trifling costs borders on the obsessive.
“I’ve started to pay close attention to tips on TV shows, like minimizing the number of times you open the fridge to save electricity,” said Takahashi, whose family of five lives in suburbs north of Tokyo.
“We’ve started to feel the pinch going about things the usual way so I’ve made adjustments.”
Takahashi’s behavior is mirrored by a growing number of consumers and underlines a worrying trend for Japan.
After lifting two years of on-and-off coronavirus curbs in March, the government was counting on what’s known as “revenge spending”, pent-up demand triggering a splurge that boosts consumption and a moribund economy, as has been seen in the United States, China and some other major economies.
But with energy, food and other living costs soaring – exacerbated in recent months by a sharp decline in the yen and the war in Ukraine – those hopes are fading fast. – Reuters
