

As Japanese society continues to gray with fewer children, and as the number of single-person households expands, more pets are being treated as a child or a spouse, said a researcher commissioned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
"The market will likely continue to expand with owners regarding their pets as family members and sparing no expense," Shimpei Iwama, a member of the Osaka office of research firm Fuji Keizai Co., said. The firm estimates the value of the pet market at about 1.2 trillion yen in 2009. The survey shows that pet-related expenditure, which was a little over 10,000 yen in 1993, exceeded 15,000 yen in 2003. Since 2005, expenses have been growing for five consecutive years.

On the other hand, data on single-person households showed that women aged from 35 to 59 spent the most on their pets at 20,752 yen. Overall, women spent 12,508 yen on average, which was more than four times that of men, the report said.
Pet food makes up one third of the market, with diet food and health conscious "premium food" selling well, according to Fuji Keizai. (Breitbart)