Japanese men hoping to reap the benefits of the economic upturn with an increase in their monthly spending cash will be disappointed to find this won't be happening anytime soon. It seems their wives, who typically control family purse strings in Japan, have yet to buy into Abenomics.
According to an online survey of 3,300 individuals carried out by Orix Bank Corp. in July, the average monthly spending allowance of men fell by 11% compared with last year's survey, falling to Y30,468 ($310).
In some ways, the survey result released Tuesday is not a big surprise since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies to bolster the economy have yet to translate into a rise in wages for the average Japanese worker.
Many economists say it will take longer for the policies - known as Abenomics - to boost the base salaries of company employees and seep into the spending patterns of average Japanese homes. Spending so far has mainly been driven by those profiting from a rise in share prices from late last year, leading to a splurging on luxury items by the wealthy.
While the reasons are unclear, the survey also indicates that most men didn't even attempt to have their pocket money increased. Only 5.1% of respondents said they negotiated to have their allowances raised. And of those who did bargain with their partners, 70% didn't actually succeed in getting a raise.
Source: NewsOnJapan
