Japan CPI February 2027

Preview and background

The preview below explains what to watch. The release facts above show the current recorded schedule; forecasts and market scenarios remain editorial context.

Japan’s national Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2027 is scheduled for release on Friday, February 19, 2027 at 8:30 am Japan Standard Time, which is 6:30 pm ET on Thursday, February 18 and 11:30 pm in London. The figures are published by the Statistics Bureau of Japan and cover price changes for January 2027. Full schedule and background on this series is available on the Japan CPI hub page.

What is Japan’s Consumer Price Index?

The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by households for a fixed basket of goods and services, including food, housing, transport, healthcare and clothing. The Statistics Bureau collects price data from thousands of retail outlets and service providers across Japan each month and compares it with prices a year earlier to produce the year-on-year inflation rate.

Markets watch three measures published together: the headline CPI, “core CPI” which excludes fresh food because its prices swing with weather and seasons, and “core-core CPI” which strips out both fresh food and energy to show underlying price pressure away from volatile oil and gas costs. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) targets 2% inflation on a sustainable basis and uses the core-core measure as one of its main guides when setting interest rates.

Because Japan spent decades battling deflation, every CPI print is scrutinised for signs of whether price rises are becoming entrenched in wages and spending, or fading as temporary cost-push effects from energy and imports wear off.

When is the January 2027 CPI released?

The release is due at 8:30 am JST on February 19, 2027 (6:30 pm ET / 11:30 pm London time on February 18). It is published directly on the Statistics Bureau of Japan’s website alongside detailed tables by item and region.

What is the consensus forecast?

A consensus forecast for the January 2027 reading has not yet been published by major data providers at the time of writing. Economists typically update their forecasts in the days before each release, based on the Tokyo CPI print for the same month, which comes out roughly three weeks earlier and is widely treated as a leading indicator for the national figure, according to BigGo Finance.

Through much of 2026, national core CPI (ex-fresh food) ran above the BoJ’s 2% target, having eased from a high near 2.9% in January 2026 to around 2.5% by February 2026, according to Trading Economics data sourced from the Statistics Bureau. Tokyo’s core CPI, the leading indicator, climbed back above target later in 2026, reaching 2.0% in July and 2.7% in September 2026, according to Trading Economics.

What the result could mean

Why does this release matter right now?

The BoJ has been gradually moving away from over a decade of ultra-loose monetary policy, raising its policy rate in stages through 2025 and 2026 as inflation held above target for an extended run, according to Trading Economics reporting on earlier BoJ decisions. Inflation dipped below the 2% target briefly in early 2026 before Tokyo’s core measure moved back above it later in the year, partly on higher oil prices and a weak yen pushing up import costs, as flagged by Trading Economics.

Each national CPI print feeds directly into the debate over whether the BoJ should raise rates again or pause. Governor Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly said the central bank will assess incoming data meeting by meeting, and board members have been split between those pushing for further hikes and those favouring caution, according to earlier Trading Economics coverage of BoJ policy discussions.

What It Means for Your Money

• Mortgages and borrowing in Japan: if inflation stays firm, the BoJ is more likely to keep raising its policy rate, which would push up variable mortgage rates and borrowing costs for Japanese households and businesses.
• Savings: higher Japanese interest rates would also mean better returns on yen savings accounts and deposits after years of near-zero rates.
• Currencies: a hotter-than-expected reading tends to support the yen, which affects the cost of Japanese imports and exports, and can ripple into currency markets watched by UK, European and US investors with yen exposure or Japan-linked holdings.
• Investments and pensions: global pension funds and investors holding Japanese equities or bonds watch this release closely, since a faster pace of BoJ rate rises can affect bond yields and equity valuations in Tokyo, with knock-on effects for international portfolios.
• Prices for households: for people living in Japan, persistent inflation above 2% means everyday costs for food, transport and energy keep rising faster than in the deflationary decades before the mid-2020s.

Related events

• Previous release: Japan CPI, January 2027 data
• Tokyo CPI for the same reference month, published roughly three weeks earlier as a leading indicator
• Bank of Japan monetary policy meetings, where CPI trends are a central input into interest rate decisions

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the Japan CPI released?

The January 2027 data is released at 8:30 am JST on February 19, 2027, which is 6:30 pm ET and 11:30 pm London time.

How should I read the headline versus core CPI figures?

Headline CPI includes everything households buy, while core CPI strips out fresh food because its prices are volatile; the Bank of Japan focuses most on core and core-core measures to judge underlying inflation trends.

How does this release affect Bank of Japan interest rate decisions?

Sustained inflation above the BoJ’s 2% target supports the case for further rate rises, while a slowdown gives the central bank room to hold rates steady, based on its stated data-dependent approach.

Where can I find the official release?

The data is published directly by the Statistics Bureau of Japan.

When is the next Japan CPI release after this one?

Japan’s CPI is published monthly, so the next national release covering February 2027 data is expected around late March 2027, with the Tokyo CPI for February typically released a few weeks earlier.