TOKYO: More Japanese felt they were worse off than three months ago as the cost of living rose and earnings fell, a central bank survey showed, casting doubt on premier Shinzo Abe's growth revival strategy as the economy sputters under the weight of a sales tax hike.
A diffusion index measuring households' confidence on the economy fell at the biggest pace in more than three years to minus 20.4 in September, the worst reading since Abe's Liberal Democratic Party took power in a landmark election in December 2013, the quarterly BoJ survey showed on Thursday.
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