A record 63.2% of Japanese are worried about their financial stability and have a negative outlook on the future, while 28.6% said they had difficulty raising children in the country, Japanese news agency reported on Sunday, citing a government survey.
Japan's parliament begins deliberations on a 13.20 trillion yen ($88 billion) extra budget for fiscal 2023 to next March, as the government moves to fund an economy-supporting package that aims to alleviate the burden of rising prices on households.
Japanese consumers will have seen price hikes on 30,009 food and beverage products by October as retailers pass on higher costs to protect their profits, according to a credit research company.
Japan will see another wave of price hikes at the start of the new business year from April 1 as higher raw material costs eat into company margins, dealing yet another blow to consumers already facing inflation rates that have outpaced wage growth.
Japan's House of Representatives approves a record 114.38 trillion yen ($840 billion) budget for fiscal 2023, making its enactment certain before the new fiscal year starts in April as the nation faces a cost of living crisis and security threats from its neighbors.