Japan’s industrial production dropped 2.6% month-on-month in November 2025, reversing a 1.5% increase in the previous month and missing market expectations of a 2.0% decline, according to flash data. It was the steepest decrease since January 2024, reflecting weaker external demand toward year-end and ongoing inventory adjustments. Industries that mainly contributed to the fall were electrical machinery and information and communication electronics equipment (-10.1% vs 27.4% in October), motor vehicles (-6.6% vs 6.7%), and fabricated metals (-6.4% vs 1.6%). On a yearly basis, industrial output shrank 2.1%, reversing a 1.6% growth in October and marking the first decline in three months. It also indicated the steepest yearly drop since May.