Pinched pensions limit chances of demand-led recovery in Japan

Tokyo

WHILE Japan's stimulus policies are beginning to have some effect, with more people beginning to spend, pensioners, a big and growing category of consumers, are clinging on to their cash, limiting the chances of a demand-led recovery.

Consumption, which as in many developed economies makes up just under two-thirds of the economy, increased last fiscal year for most groups, but spending by households where no one was employed, which includes pensioners, fell 1.5 per cent, keeping overall household spending flat.