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Japan seems to be finally throwing off the lead blanket of deflation, seeing it first significant rise in consumer spending in years. From The Washington Post:

[The} chain reaction of spending -- from houses to cars to sneakers -- heralds what economists call the long-awaited return of Japanese consumers. Their comeback, analysts say, is the strongest sign yet that Japan is overcoming a protracted cycle of economic downturns by finally licking its most daunting financial plague: deflation.

Unlike most nations, where prices rise with inflation each year, Japan has been locked in seven years of price declines, or deflation, as gloomy consumers and skeptical businesses put off purchasing, expecting that prices would continue to fall. The drag on the economy forced some companies to cut payrolls, creating what many feared would be a cycle of constantly falling prices.

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