Indices of Tertiary Industry Activity - January 2026

Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

Release Date: March 17, 2026

Reference Period: January 2026

Overview

The Tertiary Industry Index measures activity in Japan's service sector, which comprises approximately 73% of the country's economic activity. The index reflects activity across multiple business categories including wholesale trade, retail trade, information and communications, finance and insurance, medical and healthcare services, and other service sector activities.

Key Results - Seasonally Adjusted

Measure	January 2026	December 2025	Change (MoM)
Overall Tertiary Industry Index	106.3	104.8	+1.7%
Broad-ranging Personal Services	106.7	N/A	+1.0%
Broad-ranging Business Services	105.9	N/A	+2.6%

Sectoral Analysis - Month-over-Month Changes (Seasonally Adjusted)

Increases

Retail Trade: +4.8% (contribution: 0.48)
Information and Communications: +4.0% (contribution: 0.51)
Finance and Insurance: +3.9% (contribution: 0.38)
Electricity, Gas, Heat Supply and Water: +3.9% (contribution: 0.15)
Wholesale Trade: +2.4% (contribution: 0.25)
Medical, Health Care and Welfare: +1.1% (contribution: 0.13)

Decreases

Living and Amusement-related Services: -2.0% (contribution: -0.19)
Real Estate: -0.7% (contribution: -0.06)

Non-Seasonally Adjusted Data

Measure	Index Value	Year-over-Year Change
Overall Tertiary Industry	101.2	+1.5%

Commentary

The Tertiary Industry Index for January 2026 rebounded strongly with a month-over-month increase of 1.7%, recovering from the -0.5% decline recorded in December 2025. The increase was broad-based, with particular strength in retail trade, information and communications, and financial services sectors.

The activity index reflects the consolidated performance of all business categories in the tertiary (service) sector. Component weights are based on the relative importance and value added of each sector:

Wholesale Trade: 15%
Medical, Health Care & Welfare: 12%
Living & Amusement-related Services: 12%
Information & Communications: 11%
Retail Trade: 10%
Transport & Postal Activities: 10%
Finance and Insurance: 9%
Real Estate: 8%
Business-related Services: 7%
Electricity, Gas, Heat Supply & Water and Goods Rental and Leasing: 3% each

The index base is 2019-2020 average = 100. Data is presented both with and without seasonal adjustment to account for regular seasonal patterns in service sector activity.