Japan core inflation in September surges to its highest this year at 2.1%

An employee at the Celsior Wadamachi supermarket in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. Soaring food costs are a key component driving broader inflation higher, with data Friday expected to show consumer price growth has stayed above the central bank's 2% target for four straight calendar years. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJapan's core inflation in September hit its highest this year at 2.1%, overshooting analysts' expectations, on the back of elevated energy prices and higher import costs due to a weak yen. Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with than the 2.1% forecast by economists polled by Reuters, and accelerated from the 1.7% in the month before. Headline inflation came in at 2.1%, while the so-called "core-core" inflation, which excludes prices of fresh food and energy and is the Bank of Japan's preferred gauge, was at 2.4%. Higher inflation could push the Bank of Japan for another rate hike this year, after a 25 basis points increase in September, as the central bank normalizes its monetary approach after decades of reflationary policy. Japan raised rates to a three-decade high of 1.25% in September.Finance Minister Satsuki K...