Households of two or more people spent an average of 301,974 yen (about 2,101 U.S. dollars), down for the eighth consecutive month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
By category, food expenditure, accounting for around one third of household spending, declined for the 13th straight month by falling 4.4 percent, as poor harvests pushed up prices for vegetables.
Spending on clothing and shoes shrank 9.7 percent amid sluggish demand for winter clothes, while expenditures on household durable goods plunged 24.8 percent.
Accounting for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product, household spending is a key gauge of private consumption in the country.
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