TOKYO—Japan’s household spending posted an annual drop for the fourth straight month in November, a weaker-than-expected reading that threw into doubt hopes that a consumer demand recovery will give a major boost to the economy in the final quarter of 2021. Household spending fell 1.3 percent in November from a year earlier, government data showed, a surprisingly weak outcome compared with the market forecast of a 1.6 percent gain in a Reuters poll and dropping at a faster pace than October’s 0.6 percent decline. The month-on-month figures were also negative, losing 1.2 percent, weaker than a forecast of a 1.2 percent gain as households remained hesitant to increase spending despite lower COVID-19 infections than during the summer months. “Coronavirus infections had already come down, so this suggests consumers remain cautious about the outlook,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute. The weak figures raise some concerns …