Japanese to spend more in summer break for 2nd straight yr: survey

Japanese people plan to increase their spending in the upcoming summer vacation period for the second straight year, with an average budget of 72,668 yen ($520), as pandemic restrictions become a thing of the past, a survey by an insurance firm showed Thursday.

In the survey by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., planned spending rose 4,036 yen from a year earlier. The results come as Japan enters its first summer holiday period since COVID-19’s legal status was downgraded to the same as seasonal flu while pay hikes are giving people more spending money, despite widespread inflationary pressures....