In a July 5 installment of the popular “Shabekuri 007” program
broadcast Mondays on the Japan TV network, show hosts and audience
alike gasped in astonishment when Mitsuyo Ota remarked she paid her
entertainer husband Hikari a “kozukai” (monthly allowance) of
50,000 yen. This figure, only slightly higher than that of the
average wage earner, appeared unusually parsimonious for a man at
the peak of his showbiz career.
In Japan, salarymen’s monthly “kozukai” and discretionary spending
patterns function as a useful economic barometer, and Shukan Post
(July 23) has picked the brains of sociologist Masahiro Yamada, who
tied up with a market research firm to conduct international
comparisons in five countries.
Based on data from wage earners living in major cities in the U.S.,
UK, Italy and China, the Japanese came out rather poorly.
“Japanese males came out second to Americans in terms of hours
worked, but in contrast to about 80,000 yen per month for
Americans, Japanese only averaged half that, about 40,000 yen,”
says Yamada. “Considering the consumer price differentials,
Japanese are even lower than Chinese males in the major
cities.”
The survey also determined that the percentage of the husband’s
annual income devoted to discretionary spending was 12% in the
U.S.; 19% in the UK; 14% in Italy; and 35% in China.
“In Japan, the figure was only 8%,” Yamada notes, adding that the
practice of men handing over their entire pay packet to their wives
is not widespread outside Japan.
The average “kozukai” is down by nearly half since the bursting of
the bubble economy. The figure peaked at 76,000 yen in 1990. This
year it dropped to 40,600 yen—down by 35,400 yen in two decades and
by 5,000 from just last year.
What does this imply for the average man in the street?
“I get 40,000 yen a month,” a 48-year-old worker at an auto
manufacturer moans to Shukan Post. “I can only afford to respond to
invitations to go golfing with my boss perhaps one time out of
four. Once, when I had to play two consecutive weeks, all I had
left for lunch right before payday was a 100-yen hamburger, washed
down with coffee at the office.”
The custom of “kozukai” appears to have taken root in the Edo era
(1603-1868). An old ledger saved by the Inoyama family of Kaga-han,
present-day Ishikawa Prefecture, confirms this.
“Even though Naoyuki earned the largest income, his allowance was
unbelievably small—only 19 monme per year,” Yamada points out. The
Inoyama’s total household income for the same year was 4,356
monme.
Other old records indicate a pattern of budgetary behavior
remarkably similar to Japanese households of today.
By contrast, American husbands of a century ago were less generous
with their discretionary income. In “A Daughter of Samurai,” Etsuko
Sugimoto (1873-1950) voiced surprise when her American female host
confided she had raided her sleeping husband’s trousers pockets for
coins to donate at Sunday church services.
“Before the Pacific War, Japan was primarily an agricultural nation
and family members pooled their income. I suppose the custom of
apportioning out an allowance to the husband became entrenched,”
says Yamada. “After the war, when the work shifted from farming to
salaried wages, the practice continued.”
Before the bursting of the bubble, wage earners were able to
supplement their “kozukai” with generous outlays from their
employers. But due to cost cuts, entertainment budgets and other
perks enjoyed by these “shayo-zoku” have gone the way of the
Brontosaurus.
Economist Takuro Morinaga notes that while family income declined
8% from 2000 to 2009, wage earners’ average “kozukai” dropped by
38%. This suggests the “kozukai” system may be a key factor in
Japan’s stagnant consumption.
Yamada agrees, noting that while boutiques proffering male-oriented
goods have been springing up in foreign countries, in Japan it
remains females who dominate consumption.
The future prospects appear even gloomier as the eventual increase
of the consumption tax from 5% to 10% is almost certain to cause
more draconian budgetary measures. What to do?
“At the very least, try showing this article to your wife as a hint
to raise your stipend,” Shukan Post recommends, humorously adding,
“but please don’t blame us if it stirs up a hornet’s nest.”