Japan

Japan’s Economy Expands 0.5% in First Quarter, Matching Expectations

Japan’s economy grew 0.5% quarter-over-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, matching market expectations and accelerating from the 0.3% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
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WS News 06-08-26
Japan Services PMI fell to 50.0 in May, matching expectations but down from 51.0 previously.
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Author
WS Investor 06-03-26
Japan’s corporate investment activity stalled sharply in the first quarter, raising concerns about the strength of domestic economic momentum. Capital spending was unchanged from a year earlier, coming in at 0.0%, well below market expectations for 4.1% growth and down significantly from the previous quarter’s 6.5% increase.
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WS News 06-01-26
Tokyo Core CPI inflation slowed to 1.3% year over year in May, missing expectations of 1.5% and easing from the previous 1.5% reading.
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WS News 05-29-26
Japan’s BoJ Core CPI rose 2.8% year over year, clearly above the 1.7% forecast and higher than the previous 2.5%.
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WS Investor 05-26-26
Japan’s inflation pressures continued to ease in April, with National Core CPI slowing to 1.4% year-over-year from 1.8%, coming in below expectations of 1.7%. Meanwhile, monthly CPI rose just 0.1%, down from 0.4% in the previous month.
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WS News 05-22-26
Japan’s S&P Global Services PMI fell to 50.0 in May from 51.0 in April, signaling a slowdown in growth across the services sector.
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WS News 05-21-26
Japan posted a trade surplus of ¥301.9 billion in April, sharply beating expectations for a ¥29.7 billion deficit. However, the surplus was still significantly lower than the previous month’s ¥643.0 billion surplus, indicating that while trade performance remained positive, momentum weakened compared to March.
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Author
WS News 05-21-26
Japan Industrial Production Decline Eases in March

Japan’s industrial production fell 0.4% month-over-month in March, outperforming market expectations for a 0.5% decline and showing a significant improvement from February’s sharp 2.0% contraction.
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Author
WS Investor 05-19-26
Japan’s Economy Beats Forecasts in Q1

Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, signaling stronger momentum despite global trade uncertainty. GDP expanded 0.5% quarter-on-quarter, above forecasts of 0.4% and accelerating from 0.2% in the previous quarter.

On an annualized basis, GDP rose 2.1%, also beating expectations of 1.7% and improving sharply from the prior 0.8% reading.
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Author
WS Investor 05-19-26
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