Japan’s January Consumer Confidence Index

February 17, 2007
By Ken Worsley

On Tuesday, February 13, the Cabinet Office released the summary results of its January 15 Consumer Confidence Index. Although 2007 started out lower than 2006, January’s final figure was higher than December’s.

The Cabinet Office surveyed 6,720 households nationwide, of which 5,040 had two or more members and 1,680 were single-person households; single-person household data was left out of the final results. The households are asked how they feel about the following four conditions relating to consumer sentiment: perception of general economic well-being, income growth, employment conditions, and willingness to purchase durable goods.

A score of 50 on this index means that respondents feel that economic conditions are neither getting better nor worse. A score below 50 means that a majority of respondents feel that conditions are worsening. From the excel file showing historical data back to January 1982, we can see that there has not been a score over 50 since June 1990’s 50.3, although April 2006 scored exactly a 50.

January’s score: 48.1, which was 2.2 points higher than December’s 45.9, and 0.6 points lower than November’s 48.7 (See: Japan’s December Consumer Confidence Index - Ouch!).

Japan’s Consumer Confidence Index: January 2006-January 2007(Clicking the image to the left will bring up the full size chart in a new window)

A score under 50 still indicates strong pessimism in the public, though after so many years with such a score, the public mindset seems endemically negative; historical data shows that even throughout the bubble era the Consumer Confidence Index frequently checked in under 50, and that the score has never broken the 51 point mark.

Filed Under Cabinet Office, Consumer Confidence Index