Japan's COVID crisis reawakens deflation fears as cash hoarding returns Reuters 1/27/2021 By Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko Popular Searches TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A spike in coronavirus infections in Japan is driving local households to do what they have always done in times of crisis: spend less and save more, stoking fears of a deeper retail recession and grinding deflation. Fifty-year-old Hiromi Suzuki is doing just that having quit her job at a Tokyo novelty store in December after the pandemic hit sales. "I try not to spend money," she said, walking her dog in the city. "Since I don't go out much, I don't buy cosmetics or clothes any more."