Households of two or more people spent an average of 282,969 yen (about 1,880 U.S. dollars), dropping for the seventh consecutive month while expanding from the 2.5-percent fall in August, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
By category, food expenditure, accounting for around one-third of household spending, declined for the 12th straight month by falling 3.7 percent, amid rising prices for vegetables, seaweed and meat.
Spending on clothing and shoes plunged 18.3 percent, while outlays for housing declined 11.2 percent due to cutbacks on repairs and maintenance work and rents.
Accounting for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product (GDP), household spending is a key gauge of private consumption in the country.
Separate data from the labor ministry showed on Tuesday that Japan's real wages in September declined for the 18th straight month by dropping 2.4 percent, as price surges continued to outpace salaries.
Experts here noted that it is rather difficult to expect consumption growth at a time when real household income continues to decline.
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