Decline in monthly allowances usually doled out by wives suggests workers have yet to feel benefits of Abenomics
Even as Japan's economy emerges from almost two decades of drift, spare a thought for the salarymen, the legions of workers who spearheaded the country's postwar economic recovery. According to a survey, their monthly allowances – usually doled out by their wives – are at the lowest level for more than 30 years, and less than half the level seen during the zenith of the bubble economy.
In today's more frugal times, male salaried workers each have 38,457 yen a month – from an average monthly wage of just over 314,000 yen – to spend on lunch, after-work drinks with colleagues and other items, according to Shinsei Bank.
At the height of the bubble economy in the mid- to late 1980s, some had as much as 80,000 yen a month to fritter on high-class hostess clubs and taxis to whisk them home in the early hours.
Even in Japanese households where the husband is the sole or main breadwinner, wives generally hold the purse strings, dishing out pocket money that rises and falls in line with the state of the wider economy.
Now the average male worker sets aside 518 yen a day for lunch, according to Shinsei's survey of 1,000 men in their 20s to 50s. They spend an average of 7,689 yen a month on drinking with colleagues, averaging 2.2 times a month and 3,474 yen a time, the latter figure up 21% from last year.
While persistent deflation has given individual workers marginally more spending power, it has dulled consumption as households hold out for further drops in prices. That in turn hits corporate profits and keeps wages stagnant.
The annual pocket money survey, which began in 1979, suggests that while the stock market is rising and the weak yen has buoyed exporters, ordinary workers have yet to feel the benefits of Japan's experiment with massive public investment, super-loose monetary easing and structural reforms.
The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, came to power last December promising to end deflation and make exports more competitive. The Tokyo stock exchange has risen by about 50% and the yen has fallen by about 25% against the US dollar since late last year.
Abe's economic programme, nicknamed Abenomics, has sparked optimism that the world's third-biggest economy could emerge from years of stagnation. But for many salarymen, Abe's promise of higher wages has yet to materialise.
"People with assets, along with exporters, are seeing the benefits of Abenomics, but that hasn't been matched by conspicuous consumption," said Jun Okumura, a Japan specialist at the Eurasia Group. "There is a sense among many people that the benefits have yet to accrue to them. If that continues, they are going to become disaffected, and that's when you'll see Abe's poll ratings begin to slide."
Public support for Abe's Liberal Democratic party has weakened slightly in recent days, but it is still expected to win upper house elections this month, giving it control of both houses of parliament and handing Abe a mandate to continue with his economic and political reforms.
Shinsei said: "The effects of Abenomics have not been sufficient to affect the pocket money allowances of salarymen, despite causing improvements in the performance of some companies and rises in stock prices."
The bank noted that some workers had received pay rises, which have been reflected in more generous allowances, but forecast that "in most households, the monetary situation is expected to worsen" due to rising fuel and other costs, and a planned sales tax rise next year.