Japanese consumers are bucking the regional trend of belt-tightening.

Data released today shows month on month retail spending in September rose by the highest rate in four months.

Japan’s trade ministry says sales rose 2.7 per cent in September over August, when they rose 1.9 per cent over July. Third quarter sales rose 1.4 per cent year on year, almost reversing a 1.8 per cent fall in the second quarter.

“The jump in retail sales in September confirms that private consumption is recovering from the slump caused by the sales tax hike,” Marcel Thieliant, a Singapore-based economist at Capital Economics, said in a report, quoted on Bloomberg.