Japan September Reuters Tankan Semiconductor Related Demand Contributes to Improvement in Manufacturers' and Non manufactur...

Economics Research 9 September 2026 | 9:37AM JST

Japan: September Reuters Tankan: Semiconductor-Related Demand Contributes to Improvement in Manufacturers’ and Non-manufacturers’

BOTTOM LINE: The manufacturers’ DI in the September Reuters Tankan improved by Yuriko Tanaka | +3 points from August to +21, reaching its highest level since December 2021. The Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. non-manufacturers’ DI improved by +1 point. Both manufacturers and non-manufacturers cited solid semiconductor-related demand as a reason for the improvement in business conditions.

September Reuters Tankan (based on 400 companies; conducted August 26 - September 4)

n Manufacturers DI: Sep: +21, Aug: +18, Dec outlook: +27 (previous outlook DI: +16) n Non-manufacturers DI: Sep: +29, Aug: +28, Dec outlook: +27 (previous outlook DI: +28)

Manufacturers’ DI Improves Slightly, Reaches Highest Level Since End of 2021

The manufacturers’ DI in the September Reuters Tankan improved by +3 points from August to +21, with the DI level reaching its highest point since December 2021. The survey was conducted from August 26 to September 4.

By sector, DIs improved (vs. August) in 3 of 9 sectors, worsened in 2 sectors, and were flat in 4 sectors. The DIs for textiles & paper (+13 points vs. August) and electric machinery (+15 points) improved significantly. The electric machinery sector pointed out solid demand related to semiconductor memory and data centers in its comments. On the other hand, the DIs for oil refinery & ceramics (-12 points vs. August) and food (-25 points) declined significantly. The food sector cited a decline in consumption, due to high prices and soaring raw material prices as reasons for the deterioration.

The outlook DI for the manufacturing sector calls for an improvement of +6 points from September. In particular, a further improvement of +17 points is expected for electric machinery.

Non-manufacturers’ DI Improves by 1 Point

The non-manufacturers’ DI improved by +1 point from August to +29. The DI level remains at a level slightly below the start of the year (+32).

A breakdown shows that, out of 6 sectors, DIs improved in 3 sectors compared to

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August, worsened in 2 sectors, and were flat in 1 sector. DIs improved for retail (+9 points vs. August), transport, telecommunications & utilities (+8 points), and real estate & construction (+5 points). Comments from real estate & construction indicate that they are able to continue raising rents, and are able to pass on higher costs to price increases. In addition, transport cited solid demand related to semiconductors and AI as a reason for the improvement. On the other hand, the information services sector declined by -12 points vs. August.

The outlook DI for the non-manufacturing sector calls for a worsening of -2 points from September.

Exhibit 1: Reuters vs. BOJ Tankan DI: Manufacturers Exhibit 2: Reuters vs. BOJ Tankan DI: Non-manufacturers

Percent points Percent points Percent points Percent points 40 40 40 40

Reuters: Manufacturers Reuters: Nonmanufacturers -60 -60 -60 -60 BOJ: Large manufacturers BOJ: Large nonmanufacturers

Source: Thomson Reuters, BoJ Source: Thomson Reuters, BoJ

Tomohiro Ota Yuriko Tanaka Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.