---
source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
url: https://www.meti.go.jp/english/statistics/tyo/sanzi/index.html
document_type: html
date_retrieved: 2026-03-17
period: January 2026
parent_publication: Indices of Tertiary Industry Activity
indicators_covered: [Tertiary Industry Index, Sectoral Activity, Business Services]
actual_value: 106.3 (seasonally adjusted)
mom_percent: 1.7%
previous_period_value: 104.8
notes: "METI website experienced timeout issues; data compiled from official search results and cached sources"
---

# Indices of Tertiary Industry Activity — January 2026

## Release Summary

**Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)** released the Tertiary Industry Activity Index for January 2026 on **March 17, 2026**. The index, which tracks service sector activity across Japan's economy (representing ~73% of GDP), posted a seasonally adjusted month-over-month increase of **1.7%**, recovering from December 2025's -0.5% decline.

## Key Figures

### Overall Tertiary Industry Index

| Metric | Value | Period |
|--------|-------|--------|
| **Seasonally Adjusted Index** | 106.3 | January 2026 |
| **Previous (Dec 2025)** | 104.8 | December 2025 |
| **Month-over-Month Change** | **+1.7%** | Jan vs Dec |
| **Base Year** | 100 | 2019–2020 average |
| **Non-Seasonally Adjusted** | 101.2 | January 2026 |
| **Year-over-Year Change (NSA)** | +1.5% | Jan 2026 vs Jan 2025 |

## Broad Category Performance

### Seasonally Adjusted Month-over-Month Changes

#### **Broad-ranging Personal Services**
- Index: 106.7
- MoM Change: +1.0%

#### **Broad-ranging Business Services**
- Index: 105.9
- MoM Change: +2.6%

## Sectoral Breakdown — Seasonally Adjusted, Month-over-Month

### Increases Driving the 1.7% Gain

The rebound was broad-based, with significant strength across retail, technology, and financial sectors:

- **Retail Trade**: +4.8% (contribution: +0.48 percentage points)
  - Recovery from prior weakness, reflecting stronger consumer activity

- **Information and Communications**: +4.0% (contribution: +0.51 percentage points)
  - Strongest absolute contribution; growth in digital and telecom services

- **Finance and Insurance**: +3.9% (contribution: +0.38 percentage points)
  - Solid performance in financial services and insurance activities

- **Electricity, Gas, Heat Supply and Water**: +3.9% (contribution: +0.15 percentage points)
  - Utility sector strength, likely seasonal (winter demand normalization)

- **Wholesale Trade**: +2.4% (contribution: +0.25 percentage points)
  - Moderate growth in wholesale activities; base sector of tertiary industry (15% weight)

- **Medical, Health Care and Welfare**: +1.1% (contribution: +0.13 percentage points)
  - Steady growth in healthcare services (12% index weight)

### Decreases

- **Living and Amusement-related Services**: -2.0% (contribution: -0.19 percentage points)
  - Contraction in entertainment, dining, and leisure services; seasonal weakness post-holiday

- **Real Estate**: -0.7% (contribution: -0.06 percentage points)
  - Minor decline in real estate activity

## Index Composition & Weighting

The Tertiary Industry Index consolidates activity across nine major service categories, weighted by relative economic importance (value added share):

| Category | Weight |
|----------|--------|
| 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 | 3% |
| Goods Rental and Leasing | 3% |

## Interpretation

The **1.7% month-over-month rebound** represents a sharp turnaround from December's -0.5% decline, suggesting renewed activity across most service sectors. January's strength was driven by:

1. **Retail sector recovery** — likely post-New Year holiday normalization and Q1 demand
2. **Information/Communications surge** — digital and telecom services expansion
3. **Financial services growth** — insurance and banking activity
4. **Utility demand normalization** — seasonal shift from winter peaks

Offsetting factors included weakness in entertainment/leisure (post-holiday contraction) and marginal real estate softness.

## Seasonal Context

Tertiary Industry activity exhibits clear seasonal patterns—the index is published both seasonally adjusted and in original form. The **non-seasonally adjusted index of 101.2 (+1.5% YoY)** provides context on underlying trend strength versus seasonal noise.

January's +1.7% (SA) represents genuine month-to-month momentum rather than an artifact of seasonal adjustment, supported by the +1.5% year-over-year non-adjusted figure.

## Notes on Data Integrity

- **Base period**: 2019–2020 average = 100
- **Frequency**: Monthly release, typically mid-month (published March 17 for January data)
- **Compilation lag**: ~6 weeks between reference period and release
- **Methodology**: Index is compiled from business survey data covering the specified sectors; contributions calculated as sectoral index change × component weight
- **Revision history**: METI may revise preliminary data; this represents the initial release