Fashion pulse: Japan - August 2026

Summary of Japan's fashion industry in August 2026, including consumer prices, retail sales, tourism, and economic context.

What happened

Japan's national consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in August 2026, unchanged from July, according to Japan's Statistics Bureau. Excluding fresh food, prices rose 1.7 percent, after 1.8 percent in July. Clothing and footwear prices rose 1.5 percent YoY, up from 1.2 percent in July, and remained below headline inflation.

Why it matters

Within the category, clothing prices rose 2.0 percent YoY and footwear prices 1.1 percent, while shirts and sweaters rose 0.7 percent, according to the Statistics Bureau. In the 23 wards of Tokyo, clothing and footwear prices rose 1.4 percent YoY in August, down from 1.7 percent in July.

Sales at textile, apparel and accessories stores fell 6.1 percent YoY to 520 billion yen in August, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). This was the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year decline for the category. Total retail sales rose 2.7 percent YoY to 13.05 trillion yen, while non-store retail sales rose 3.0 percent.

Department store sales rose 2.6 percent YoY in August on a store-adjusted basis, the eighth consecutive monthly increase, according to preliminary figures from the Japan Department Stores Association (JDSA). Clothing sales at department stores totalled 98.2 billion yen, up 0.8 percent on a store-adjusted basis, with menswear down 0.8 percent, womenswear down 0.1 percent and childrenswear up 4.2 percent. Sales of personal accessories rose 2.0 percent, while art, jewellery and precious metals rose 12.8 percent.

This news brief is based on reporting published by FashionUnited on 2026-10-06. The original report is linked below.