Japan's real household spending falls 3.1 pct in August

Japan's real household spending fell 3.1 percent year on year in August, marking a ninth consecutive month of decline, government data showed Friday.

Average monthly consumption expenditure by households with two or more people stood at 310,975 yen (about 1,960 U.S. dollars), down 1.0 percent in nominal terms, according to data released by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, real household spending edged up 0.1 percent from July, marking a second consecutive month-on-month increase.

Spending on food fell 1.4 percent, while outlays for energy and water bills dropped 5.2 percent as cooler temperatures reduced the need for air conditioning.

Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.

Chinese and Myanmar police have broken the deadlock over Muse region and jointly launched a sweeping crackdown on telecom fraud dens across northern Myanmar after painstaking intelligence operations, high-level consultations and evidence-based persuasion.

Since China launched its special campaign against crimes in northern Myanmar targeting Chinese nationals in July 2023, the ringleaders of Kokang's "Four Families" have all been captured, and fraud syndicates in Wa State and Shan State Special Region-4 have been dismantled.

However, Muse, the campaign's fourth front, remained unbroken.

Muse lies in northeastern Myanmar's Shan State, facing Ruili City of southwest China's Yunnan Province across a narrow river. Long a vital gateway between the two countries, its rugged terrain and complex geopolitical makeup have also made it a preferred hiding ground for telecom fraud syndicates.

With the assistance of local police in Muse, the Ruili police collected and sorted clues from various sources. Through case analysis and suspect screening, they have gradually obtained detailed information on the telecom fraud dens, and finally secured a map clearly marking the locations of these operations in Muse.

Afterwards, leveraging the law enforcement cooperation mechanism established along the China-Myanmar border, senior police officials from both sides were engaged in in-depth consultations regarding the crackdown on new types of telecom fraud dens that were scattered and concealed across the Muse area.

"We on the Chinese side have firmly focused on the fact that combating criminal activity is a shared responsibility of both the Chinese and Myanmar police forces, and we have engaged with them on this premise," said Zhao Nanfang, then head of the criminal investigation corps of the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

At the talks, with the help of the fraud den distribution map in Muse jointly drawn up by Chinese and Myanmar police, China's representative Geng Bang gave a detailed briefing backed by data cross-verified through case analysis, with each set of figures corresponding precisely to a specific telecom fraud compound.

"Who ran the area, who were the financiers and key members, who provided protection, roughly how many people were inside -- we've got all these straight," said Geng, then deputy head of the criminal investigation corps of the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

"Myanmar's military carried out disguised reconnaissance and verified the sites on the ground. Except for a very few locations where people had moved away over time, they later confirmed the rest -- these were indeed compounds or parks running telecom frauds," said Zhang Jun, then head of the telecom and online fraud investigation division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.

With professional, solid and detailed evidence, as well as candor toward partners and resolve against crimes, Chinese police won the unanimous recognition of the Myanmar officials present, laying a firm foundation for subsequent talks round after round.

"We aimed to achieve a 'dynamic zero-case' goal regarding the telecom fraud activities affecting our border areas. We wanted to demonstrate our determination and stance, showcase our concrete measures, and put forward a strategy for joint China-Myanmar crackdowns," said Zhao.

In late March and early April 2024, after careful planning, Chinese and Myanmar police carried out their first joint operation in Muse, arresting 807 suspects.

This also marks the completion of the comprehensive crackdown on telecom fraud dens across four areas of northern Myanmar of the Shan State Special Region-4, Wa State, Kokang, and Muse.