Industrial output in Japan dipped 2.5 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.
That missed forecasts for a decline of 2.0 percent following the 0.7 percent increase in March.
On a yearly basis, industrial production added 4.1 percent - also missing expectations for 4.5 percent and down fro, 7.4 percent in the previous month.
Upon the release of the data, the METI downgraded its assessment of output, saying that industrial production appears to be flat. The METI had previous held that output had been showing an upward movement.
Industries that mainly contributed to the decrease included transport equipment, electronic parts and chemicals.
Commodities that mainly contributed to the decrease were large passenger cars, solar battery cells and planography printing.
According to the survey of production forecast in manufacturing, production is expected to increase 1.7 percent in May and decrease 2.0 percent in June.
Industries that mainly contributed to the increase in May include general-purpose, production and business oriented machinery, electrical machinery and electronic parts and devices.
Industries that mainly contributed to the decrease in June were transport equipment, electrical machinery and others.
Shipments in April fell 5.0 percent on month, falling for the third consecutive month. They showed an increase of 2.4 percent on year.
Industries that mainly contributed to the decrease included general-purpose, production and business oriented machinery, chemicals and transport equipment.
Inventories in April eased 0.5 percent on month, falling for the first time in two months. They also showed a decline of 1.9 percent on year.
Industries that mainly contributed to the increase were transport equipment, iron and steel and electronic parts and devices.
The Inventory Ratio in April fell 1.8 percent on month, dropping for the first time in three months. It was also down 4.3 percent on year.
Also on Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said:• Nationwide core inflation in Japan was up 3.2 percent on year in April - topping forecasts for 3.1 percent and was up sharply from 1.3 percent in March.
Overall nationwide CPI climbed 3.4 percent - in line with expectations and up from 1.6 percent in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, core CPI was up 2.2 percent and overall inflation added 2.1 percent.
Core CPI for the Tokyo region, considered a leading indicator for the nationwide trend, gained 2.8 percent on year in May. That was shy of forecasts for 2.9 percent following the 2.7 percent increase in April.
Overall Tokyo inflation jumped 3.1 percent on year, beating forecasts for 3.0 percent and up from 2.9 percent a month earlier.
On a monthly basis, Tokyo core and overall CPI each added 0.3 percent.
• The average of household spending in Japan was down 4.6 percent on year in April, standing at 302,141. That missed forecasts for a decline of 3.4 percent following the 7.2 percent jump in March.
Among the individual components of the survey, spending was down 18.7 percent on year for furniture, followed by food (-6.9 percent), clothing (-6.0 percent), medical care (-4.5 percent) and recreation (-1.8 percent).
Spending was up 10.8 percent on housing and 5.0 percent on education.
The average of monthly income per household stood at 463,964 yen, down 7.1 percent on year.
The average of consumption expenditures per household was 329,976 yen, down 6.9 percent on year.
• The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with expectations.
The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.08, beating expectations for 1.07 - which would have been unchanged from the previous month.
The participation rate was 59.5 percent, up from 59.1 percent a month earlier.
The number of employed persons in April was 63.38 million, an increase of 260,000 or 0.4 percent on year.
The number of unemployed persons in April was 2.54 million, a decrease of 370,000 or 12.7 percent on year.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.