Japan’s consumer price index excluding fresh food and special factors rose 2.3% year on year in July, slowing from 2.6% in June but remaining at or above the Bank of Japan’s 2% benchmark for a 22nd consecutive month. The measure exceeded the government’s nationwide core CPI reading of 1.8%, which stayed in the 1% range for a seventh month. Other BOJ indicators strengthened: core-core CPI excluding fresh food, energy and special factors rose to 2.2% from 2.0%, while the food- and energy-excluded measure increased to 1.6% from 1.4%. The trimmed mean returned to 2.0%, although the weighted median was 1.1%, the mode 1.4% and the share of rising items edged down to 72.4%. Markets priced roughly an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point BOJ hike to 1.25% at the September 18 meeting and projected a 1.75% policy rate by the third quarter of 2027. The mixed breadth measures leave the BOJ assessing whether wage and price increases can form a durable cycle.