Hakuhodo Inc. (Head Office: Tokyo), a think tank, conducts a monthly survey on consumption outlook, including asking 1,500 men and women aged 20-69 to rate their "consumption willingness for the next month." The results are announced as the "Next Month's Consumption Forecast." *Survey conducted June 1-9. The consumption willingness index for July 2026 is 46.3 points. This is an increase of +2.2 points compared to the previous month, and remained flat at -0.5 points compared to the previous year. [Point 1] While summer-related willingness increases, prolonged price hikes lead to a year-on-year decrease in consumption willingness, particularly among men. July, which marks the summer vacation and bonus season, is typically a month when the consumption willingness index rises. This year, it increased by +2.2 points from the previous month. While it remained flat year-on-year at -0.5 points, a breakdown by gender shows a notable decrease of -1.9 points for men and an increase of +1.0 point for women. This significant drop among men has had a major impact, resulting in the lowest July figure since the survey began in 2012. Looking at the reasons for the consumption willingness index (open-ended responses), positive responses regarding consumption increased (263 cases in June to 365 cases in July) compared to the previous month, while negative responses decreased (983 cases in June to 851 cases in July). Specifically, positive responses included an increase in "seasonal willingness to spend (due to summer vacation, wanting summer clothes, etc.)" (51 cases in June to 102 cases in July) and "financial leeway (due to bonuses, etc.)" (33 cases in June to 64 cases in July). Among negative responses, "don't want to go out in the hot weather" increased significantly (2 cases in June to 46 cases in July), while "saving money because I spent a lot this month" (126 cases in June to 59 cases in July) and "saving/restraining due to financial reasons" (231 cases in June to 169 cases in