Monthly Publication of 'Japan Inflation Tracker' Commences

[Joint Release] This content is also being distributed by Intage Inc. and Intage Research Inc.

Nowcast Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Hitoshi Tsujinaka, hereinafter "Nowcast"), an enterprise of the Finatext Group which realizes embedded finance by providing next-generation financial infrastructure, Intage Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Ayumu Higaki, hereinafter "Intage"), and Intage Research Inc. (Headquarters: Higashikurume-shi, Tokyo; President: Kiyoyuki Murakami, hereinafter "Intage Research") have launched the "Japan Inflation Tracker" (Japanese name: Intage Inflation Tracker), a new report that multi-layeredly visualizes the inflation expectations and purchasing behaviors of Japanese households, and will commence continuous monthly information dissemination. The analysis will be supervised by Tsutomu Watanabe, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo (Founder and Director of Nowcast, Head of "Organic Data Lab"). The inaugural report published on April 24, 2026, summarizes the results of the analysis regarding price trends following the outbreak of the war in Iran.

■ Background and Aims of the Launch: Building a Continuous "Economic Infrastructure" to Support EBPM

This project aims to establish a continuous leading indicator unique to Japan that captures the linkage between household "mindset (consciousness)" and "behavior (quantity)" during the first inflationary period in 30 years, contributing to the advancement of Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM).

The "Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices (January 2026)" published by the Bank of Japan predicts that the inflation rate will generally move at a level consistent with the 2% target (*). However, data analysis from this project revealed that as of November last year, over 60% of companies had already raised their product prices by more than 2%, and household trends showed a similar inclination, indicating that inflation exceeding 2% has widely permeated the real economy. By fusing these macroeconomic forecast values with on-the-ground actual values to clearly depict the real image of the economy, it will serve a role as a new "economic infrastructure" complementing existing statistics.

[Report Excerpt] Percentage of households and companies with an inflation rate exceeding 2%

■ Uniqueness and Continuity of the Indicator

This report, integrating the multi-layered analysis combining the strengths of the three companies below, will be published in the latter half of every month under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Tsutomu Watanabe of the University of Tokyo.

Nowcast Inc.
Provides real-time economic analysis utilizing insights from alternative data analysis, instantly visualizing the rapidly changing inflation situation.

Intage Inc.
Utilizes barcode-level purchasing logs from the SCI® (Nationwide Consumer Panel Survey) of 70,000 consumer purchasing data nationwide. It captures microscopically "when, where, what, and for how much" consumers bought.

Intage Research Inc.
Utilizing knowledge in the social and public sectors, conducts a survey of 10,000 individuals. It captures psychological aspects such as the actual feeling of wage hikes and satisfaction with the living foundation.

■ Notice of Regular Publication

Regular Publication: Monthly reports will be published every month on the "Business Insight" page (https://www.intage-research.co.jp/insights/) within the Intage Research corporate website.

■ Future Initiatives by the Three Companies

Moving forward, the three companies—Nowcast, Intage, and Intage Research—will collaboratively advance not only the creation and publication of this report but also: 1) the provision of a dashboard bundling purchasing records and consciousness data; 2) the verification of the effects of measures and pricing policies through digital twins/simulations for local governments and companies; and 3) the promotion of joint research programs in conjunction with researchers. By continuously creating evidence effective for decision-making in the public, financial, and private sectors, we will further strengthen our partnership with a focus on data and social implementation.

*: Reference to the Bank of Japan's "Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices (January 2026)"

[About Finatext Group and Nowcast Inc.]

Finatext Group is a Fintech corporate group that realizes embedded finance by providing next-generation financial infrastructure under the mission of "Reinventing finance as a 'service'". Reviewing what financial services should be from the user's perspective, the group encompasses operating companies such as "Finatext Ltd." which develops new financial services with partner businesses, "Nowcast Inc." which provides alternative data analysis services, "Smartplus Ltd." which provides a securities business platform, "Smartplus SSI" which is a next-generation digital insurance company, and "Smartplus Credit Ltd." which provides systems and operations necessary for money lending services end-to-end, aiming to realize a "world where finance is closer to people's lives."

Company Name: Finatext Holdings Ltd.

Representative