Japan’s core machine orders, which exclude volatile sectors such as ships and electric utilities, fell by 3.7% month-on-month to JPY 1,016.9 billion in July 2026, exceeding market expectations for a 2.8% drop and slipping from a 9.7% gain in the previous month. It marked the fourth month of decline so far this year, driven by a 1% fall in manufacturing orders to JPY 518.6 billion and a 2.6% drop in non-manufacturing orders excluding utilities to JPY 525.9 billion.