23.03.202623:38:59UTC+00Japan Inflation Falls to Near 4-Year Low

Japan’s annual inflation slowed to 1.3% in February 2026 from 1.5% in January, marking the lowest rate since March 2022. Food inflation hovered near a 15-month low (4.0% vs 3.9% in January), supported by the weakest increase in rice prices in 21 months. Price gains also moderated in transport (0.5% vs 0.6%) and clothing (2.1% vs 2.4%).

Energy prices remained in deflation, with electricity (-8.0% vs -1.7%) and gas (-5.1% vs -2.0%) falling at a faster pace, reflecting the impact of government subsidies. Education costs continued to decline (-5.6% vs -5.6%).

By contrast, inflation was unchanged for housing (1.0%), healthcare (0.4%), and miscellaneous goods (0.6%), while it picked up for household items (1.2% vs 0.8%), communications (6.8% vs 6.7%), and recreation (2.2% vs 2.1%).

Core inflation eased to 1.6% from 2.0% in January, its lowest level since March 2022 and below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time since that month. On a monthly basis, the CPI declined 0.2%, matching January’s fall and marking a third consecutive monthly drop.