Japan: Consumer confidence uptrend stalls in December
Latest reading: After rising for four months, consumer confidence eased slightly to 37.2 in December, following November’s 37.5. The index remained below the 50-threshold, indicating continued pessimism among consumers, albeit less than when the U.S. unleashed reciprocal tariffs in April.
In December, consumers grew more downbeat about employment opportunities (41.5 vs 41.7 in November), overall livelihood (35.9 vs 36.2 in November) and willingness to buy durable goods (30.2 vs 30.9 in November). That said, consumers became less pessimistic about income growth (41.3 vs 41.0 in November).
Outlook: December’s reading means consumer confidence averaged the highest level in just over a year in Q4 2025. However, our panelists still see consumer spending growth as having decelerated for the third consecutive quarter in the period, as recently high inflation has begun to eat into household disposable income.