Japan’s industrial production rose 0.8% mom in April 2026, reversing a 0.4% drop in the prior month and defying market forecasts for a 0.9% decline. It was the first rise since January, amid resilient overseas demand and a recovery in domestic manufacturing activity, although escalating Middle East tensions continued to pose risks to supply chains and energy costs. Industries that mainly contributed to the upturn were general-purpose and business-oriented machinery (5.3% vs -4.3% in March), electrical machinery, and information and communication electronics equipment (3.5% vs 0.9%), and other manufacturing (1.6% vs -1.7%). In contrast, production fell for motor vehicles (-2.4% vs flat reading), inorganic and organic chemicals (-1.8% vs -8.6%), and chemicals excluding inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine (-1.2% vs 0.1%). On an annual basis, output increased 2.3%, following a 2.4% rise in March and marking the fifth straight month of expansion.