Japan’s consumer confidence slightly worsens in Dec – govt

TOKYO – Japan’s consumer confidence fell slightly in December, the government said on Wednesday, as domestic COVID-19 cases started rising towards the end of the month.

A Cabinet Office survey showed the sentiment index for general households, which includes views on incomes and jobs, was at 39.1 in December, compared with 39.2 in November.

That marked the index’s first fall in four months.

The government kept its assessment of the sentiment index unchanged, saying there were continued signs of improvement.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Writing by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)