Japan August Inflation Holds at 1.9% as Core CPI Slows to 1.7%
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Japan's headline annual inflation rate held at 1.9% in August 2026, unchanged from July and still its highest level since December 2025. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.1%, a noticeably slower pace than the upwardly revised 0.5% increase recorded in the prior month. The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food but includes energy, rose 1.7% year over year, a slight deceleration from July's six-month high of 1.8% and just below consensus forecasts of 1.8%. Core CPI has now remained below the Bank of Japan's 2% target for eight consecutive months, as government fuel subsidies helped blunt broader price pressures driven by elevated global oil costs. Food inflation also eased, rising 3.1% year over year in August compared with 3.5% in July, the softest annual gain for the category since July 2024.