Wednesday, Sept 30, 2026
0850 JST (2350 GMT/1950 EDT Tuesday, Sept 29) The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry releases August industrial production, as well as the outlook for September and October.
Mace News median: +1.7% m/m (range: +0.3% to +2.0%) vs. July revised to -0.2% from +0.1%; +7.0% y/y (range: +5.6% to +7.4%) vs. July revised to +3.9% from +4.1%
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production is seen rebounding on the month in August amid expectations of continuing demand for artificial-intelligence-related products, while a healthy global economy is supporting a solid trend in output.
August output is expected to increase amid positive signals from domestic manufacturing business conditions after the July output figure was revised downward, reflecting declines in the production of pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
The domestic economy faces uncertainty from persistent inflation, amplified by a weaker yen that is driving up import costs, but the overall footing of the economy has remained solid, supporting the recent upward trend in industrial output.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s forecast released on August 31 showed that August output, adjusted for the upward bias in the forecast index, is expected to rise 3.1% from the previous month, while September output is forecast to reverse course and fall 4.2%. METI maintained its assessment at the time that industrial output was “taking one step forward and one step back.”
Reflecting METI’s forecast, industrial output is expected to gain 1.7% from the previous month in August after July was revised down to a 0.2% decline from the preliminary 0.1% rise. The year-on-year uptrend is expected to remain in place, with output seen rising for a third consecutive month, increasing 7.0% from a year earlier, compared with a revised 3.9% rise in July.