Fashion pulse: Japan - March 2026

Consumer prices (March)

Tokyo consumer prices rose 1.4 percent year-on-year in March, slower than the 1.5 percent recorded in February, according to Japan’s Statistics Bureau. The capital’s core index — excluding fresh food — eased to plus 1.7 percent from plus 1.8 percent, the smallest gain since April 2024. Tokyo CPI leads national figures by roughly three weeks, and signals broad-based cooling from processed food prices down the chain. National clothing and footwear inflation last read plus 2.1 percent year-on-year in February, above the 1.3 percent headline rate — a gap that has persisted since the yen weakened sharply in late 2024. Japan imports 97 to 98 percent of its clothing, so import costs drive the fashion price story even as headline inflation slows.