Personal consumption is the engine of the Japanese economy, accounting for 60% of its GDP. The trend will determine tomorrow's economic climate in the country. In other words, whether Japanese economy is going to be healthy depends on how people spend money.

Do people in Japan spend more money than they did in the past? The heatmap below answers the question. It visualizes the monthly Index of Consumption Expenditure Level over the past 35 years. Thick color means higher consumption level, and vice versa.

"General" shows the entire trend, and the other buttons display subcategories. The heatmap tells us that Japanese consumption hit a peak in the mid '90s, after the bubble burst, and then people became to spend less money on fashion and food, or deflation might affect.

The government and the Bank of Japan see the current consumption level as "steady." What do you see from the visualization? Do you think it's enduring one way or another?

※The Index of Consumption Expenditure Level: It is calculated on the monthly amount of expenditures per household, eliminating the effects of inflation and the number of household members. 100 indicates the consumption level in 2010, the base year.