The Bank of Japan published the results of its 104th survey of public views, covering perceptions of economic conditions, household circumstances, prices, awareness of the Bank’s objectives and confidence in the Bank. Responses collected in November to December 2025 point to less negative sentiment on economic conditions, particularly for the one-year outlook, while most respondents continued to report and expect rising prices. For current economic conditions versus a year earlier, 5.4% said conditions had improved and 55.8% said they had worsened, taking the diffusion index (improved minus worsened) to -50.4. The one-year outlook diffusion index rose to -18.3, with 13.8% expecting conditions to improve and 32.1% expecting them to worsen. Household circumstances remained weak with a diffusion index of -52.2; 70.0% reported prices had gone up significantly and a further 25.2% slightly, while 28.2% expected prices to rise significantly over the next year and 57.8% slightly. On awareness, 26.2% said they knew one of the Bank’s objectives is to achieve price stability and 20.6% said they knew the 2% price stability target in terms of year-on-year CPI, while 43.1% had never heard of the target. Confidence responses were 13.5% “confident” and 32.3% “somewhat confident”, with 45.7% answering “difficult to say”; the survey drew from a stratified two-stage random sample of 4,000 adults living in Japan, with 2,017 valid responses collected by mail or online.
Bank of Japan 2026-01-19
Bank of Japan publishes December 2025 public survey showing improved economic outlook and widespread perception of price rises
The Bank of Japan's 104th survey reveals a less negative sentiment on economic conditions for the one-year outlook, despite continued expectations of rising prices. Awareness of the Bank's objectives remains low, with only 20.6% aware of the 2% price stability target, and confidence levels are mixed among respondents.