AlQa'dah 3, 1435, Aug 29, 2014, SPA -- Household spending in Japan was down year-on-year for the fourth consecutive month in July after a controversial sales tax increase in April, the government said Friday. The average consumption expenditure per household stood at 280,293 yen (2,703 dollars) for the month, down 5.9 percent from a year earlier, dpa quoted the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as saying. Tokyo raised the national sales tax in April to 8 percent from 5 percent, the first hike in 17 years. Household income declined 6.2 percent in July for the 10th straight month of fall, the ministry also said Friday. The average income stood at 555,276 yen for the month, the ministry said.