Japan’s machine tool orders rose by 10.6% year-on-year to JPY 158,240 million in December 2025, missing market forecasts of a 14.2% increase and easing from a 16.8% advance in the previous month. Still, this marked the highest number of orders since March 2022, driven by a 15.1% gain in foreign demand, which reached JPY 118,769 million. In contrast, domestic orders fell by 1.1% from a year earlier to JPY 39,471 million. On a monthly basis, orders climbed by 15.5% in December, rebounding from a 4.7% drop in the preceding period. Considering the full year of 2025, total machine tool orders expanded by 8% compared to the same period in the previous year to reach JPY 1,603,916 million, with foreign orders rising by 11.5%, while domestic demand decreased by 0.3%.
