Japan core inflation tops BOJ target in September

Japan's core consumer price index rose 2.1 percent in September from a year earlier, above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target for the first time in nine months and matching the market forecast, Statistics Bureau data showed on Friday.

Why it matters: With the index excluding fresh food and energy up 2.4 percent, price pressure is broadening beyond fuel and imports, which strengthens the case for another Bank of Japan rate rise after last month's increase to 1.25 percent.

Data as of Statistics Bureau of Japan consumer price index for September 2026, released Friday, October 23, 2026 (Japan time). The bureau publishes its detailed tables through the e-Stat portal, which was not extracted directly in this pass; the figures are the bureau's data as reported by Reuters on October 23, 2026, read in full, and cross-checked against the investingLive and FXStreet data posts reporting the same release, which agree on every figure. Developing item.

Japan’s core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel, rose 2.1 percent in September from a year earlier, Statistics Bureau data showed on Friday, up from 1.7 percent in August, matching the median market forecast and exceeding the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target for the first time in nine months. Headline inflation was also 2.1 percent, up from 1.9 percent, and the index excluding both fresh food and fuel, the measure the Bank of Japan watches as a gauge of demand-driven pressure, rose 2.4 percent, up from 1.9 percent and above the 2.3 percent expected.

Reuters reported that higher fuel costs from the prolonged Middle East conflict, elevated import prices driven by the weak yen and price pressures from robust AI demand are blunting the effect of government fuel subsidies. The Bank of Japan, which raised its key rate to a 31-year high of 1.25 percent last month, is expected to stand pat at next week’s meeting but may revise up its inflation forecast and signal readiness to keep raising borrowing costs, sources told Reuters.

Japan core inflation tops BOJ target in September

Sources