Solid quarter before record wave of Omicron

Economic impact: Pedestrians walk past toy capsule dispensers in Tokyo. Household spending remains slightly below the prior year’s level, illustrating how damaging the country’s restrictions to contain the virus have been to consumers. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: Japan’s household spending edged up in December, capping a solid quarter for consumers and adding to signs the economy rebounded during a lull in virus cases at the end of 2021.

Bigger outlays on housing, transportation and education pushed up overall spending by 0.1% from November’s level, the ministry of internal affairs reported yesterday.