Japan Inc sounds alarm on consumer spending

Tokyo

DO NOT believe in official statistics, Japanese retailers seem to be saying, as they cut earnings forecasts and warn of lacklustre consumer spending, a key growth engine for Japan at a time when exports and factory output are stalling.

If you go by the larger-than-expected 2.9 per cent gain in household spending in August - the first year-on-year rise in three months - then consumption looks like it is finally alive and well again, after a sales tax hike last year stifled the economy.

But profits of retailers suggest the spending data, which has a small sample size, has not c…