Across seven consecutive months, Japanese households have quietly withdrawn from the marketplace — not out of frugality by choice, but as a signal of something more unsettled beneath the surface. In June, real spending fell 3.3% year-over-year even as real wages climbed, confounding economists who had forecast modest growth. The paradox speaks to a deeper truth about economic confidence: that what people earn and what they feel safe spending are not always the same thing. When families cut back on food, utilities, and transportation — the necessities of daily life — the economy is being asked