TOKYO - The amount Japanese people are planning to spend on average for their summer holidays this year fell for the first time in five years, dropping nearly 20,000 yen ($123) from a year earlier, highlighting households' growing budget consciousness, a recent study released Thursday showed.
Although the summer budget had increased consistently throughout last year despite inflation, this year's decline of 19,756 yen brought the average down to 85,145 yen, underscoring the impact that rising prices are having on household finances.
According to the online survey conducted by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. in June, 20.7 percent of respondents said they plan to reduce their summer holiday budget, compared with 12.3 percent who intend to increase it. Last year's average budget at 104,901 yen was a record high.
Respondents most often cited higher prices squeezing household finances as the reason for scaling back their budget, followed by lower income.
Regarding plans to go on outings during the summer holidays, 41.6 percent of respondents said they had no plans to do so, up from 35.3 percent last year. The most common reason cited was the summer heat, followed by inflation.
"People have become increasingly conscious of defending their household finances," said Yukihiro Morita, an economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
The June 9-12 survey received responses from 1,120 people in their 20s to 50s.
