Consumption Activity Index
Explanation and Related Materials
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Private consumption makes up roughly 50 percent of total GDP. Therefore, a timely and precise assessment of the developments in private consumption is deemed important for making judgments on business cycles in the macroeconomy.
From this viewpoint, the Research and Statistics Department of the Bank of Japan provides research data titled "Consumption Activity Index (CAI)" on a regular basis. The CAI is compiled by using a variety of sales and supply-side statistics on goods and services as its source statistics and is provided as a measure for capturing short-term consumption activity on both monthly and quarterly bases.
Various series of the CAI -- such as nominal and real indexes, indexes with/without adjustments of travel balance, and a breakdown by type of goods/services -- are available to meet various analytical needs.
The data are, in principle, released at 2:00 p.m. on the fifth business day of each month; however, this release schedule is subject to change.
Details on the compilation methodology are available in the following research papers.
Nakamura, Kawata, Tanaka, and Uemae "The Consumption Activity Index," Bank of Japan Research Papers, May 2016.
Nakamura, Miura, and Maruyama, "The Consumption Activity Index: Improvements of Release Contents and Revisions of Compilation Methodology," Bank of Japan Research Papers, October 2016.
Kanafuji, Mandokoro, Kato, and Sugo, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index to Address the 2008 SNA and Improve Accuracy," Bank of Japan Research Papers, April 2018.
Takahashi, Kondo, Munakata, Okubo, and Iwasaki, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index to Capture Recent Changes in Consumption Patterns," Bank of Japan Research Papers, July 2021.
Takata, Ozaki, Nakazawa, Noro, and Kato, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index Following the 2020 Base Revision of GDP Statistics," Bank of Japan Research Papers, June 2026.
Explanation
Nakamura, Kawata, Tanaka, and Uemae "The Consumption Activity Index," Bank of Japan Research Papers, May 2016.
Nakamura, Miura, and Maruyama, "The Consumption Activity Index: Improvements of Release Contents and Revisions of Compilation Methodology," Bank of Japan Research Papers, October 2016.
Kanafuji, Mandokoro, Kato, and Sugo, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index to Address the 2008 SNA and Improve Accuracy," Bank of Japan Research Papers, April 2018.
Takahashi, Kondo, Munakata, Okubo, and Iwasaki, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index to Capture Recent Changes in Consumption Patterns," Bank of Japan Research Papers, July 2021.
Takata, Ozaki, Nakazawa, Noro, and Kato, "Revision of the Consumption Activity Index Following the 2020 Base Revision of GDP Statistics," Bank of Japan Research Papers, June 2026.
Seasonal Adjustment
Specifications for Seasonal Adjustment (as of May 2026) [PDF 123KB]
Notice
Charts and data available here are provided to inform some of the Bank of Japan's research and analysis to a wide range of users with interests in economic and financial developments. Please note that these charts and data are subject to unscheduled changes, revisions, and terminations. Please contact the Bank of Japan's Research and Statistics Department to request permission when reproducing or copying the content of these charts and data for commercial purposes. Please credit the source when quoting, reproducing, or copying the content of these charts and data.
Inquiries
Economic Assessment and Projection Group, Economic Research Division, Research and Statistics Department
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