The 2026 FOMC meeting calendar contains eight scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meetings. Five have concluded. The three remaining meetings are September 15-16, October 27-28 and December 8-9, with policy decisions due on each meeting's second day at 2:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time.
For readers in Japan, that means the September and October decisions arrive at 3:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time on the following day. The December decision arrives at 4:00 a.m. JST because U.S. daylight-saving time will have ended. This guide converts every 2026 meeting into Tokyo time and explains what appears in the statement, projections, press conference and minutes.
Key Takeaways
- The FOMC schedules eight regular meetings in 2026. As of August 29, the September, October and December meetings remain.
- The policy decision is released at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 3:00 a.m. the next day in Tokyo during U.S. daylight time and 4:00 a.m. during U.S. standard time.
- The press conference begins 30 minutes later. For Japan, the start is 3:30 a.m. after the September and October meetings and 4:30 a.m. after the December meeting.
- September and December include a Summary of Economic Projections. March and June did too. An asterisk on the Federal Reserve's calendar identifies these meetings.
- Minutes arrive three weeks after a regular decision. They provide a fuller account of the discussion but are not a real-time update to the decision.
- A projection meeting does not guarantee a rate change. The calendar identifies an extra disclosure package, not the outcome of the vote.
The source of record is the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting calendar, which was last updated on August 19, 2026. The Fed says future meeting dates remain tentative until confirmed at the immediately preceding meeting.
2026 FOMC Meeting Calendar and JST Times
The table uses the scheduled 2:00 p.m. Eastern release time and 2:30 p.m. press-conference time. Japan times fall on the next calendar day. The conversions use the official 2026 U.S. daylight-saving dates published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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| FOMC meeting dates (U.S.) | Status on Aug. 29 | Decision in Eastern Time | Decision in Japan | Press conference in Japan | Projections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 27-28 | Completed | Jan. 28, 2:00 p.m. EST | Jan. 29, 4:00 a.m. JST | Jan. 29, 4:30 a.m. JST | No |
| March 17-18 | Completed | Mar. 18, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Mar. 19, 3:00 a.m. JST | Mar. 19, 3:30 a.m. JST | Yes |
| April 28-29 | Completed | Apr. 29, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Apr. 30, 3:00 a.m. JST | Apr. 30, 3:30 a.m. JST | No |
| June 16-17 | Completed | Jun. 17, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Jun. 18, 3:00 a.m. JST | Jun. 18, 3:30 a.m. JST | Yes |
| July 28-29 | Completed | Jul. 29, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Jul. 30, 3:00 a.m. JST | Jul. 30, 3:30 a.m. JST | No |
| September 15-16 | Upcoming | Sep. 16, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Sep. 17, 3:00 a.m. JST | Sep. 17, 3:30 a.m. JST | Yes |
| October 27-28 | Upcoming | Oct. 28, 2:00 p.m. EDT | Oct. 29, 3:00 a.m. JST | Oct. 29, 3:30 a.m. JST | No |
| December 8-9 | Upcoming | Dec. 9, 2:00 p.m. EST | Dec. 10, 4:00 a.m. JST | Dec. 10, 4:30 a.m. JST | Yes |
The Federal Reserve's September 2026 events calendar independently lists the September 16 FOMC release at 2:00 p.m. and the press conference at 2:30 p.m. Times shown by the Fed are U.S. Eastern Time.
An unscheduled meeting is possible. The Fed says the Committee holds other meetings as needed, so a fixed annual calendar should be treated as the schedule of regular meetings, not proof that policy can change only on those dates.
The FOMC Release Sequence: What Arrives and When
An FOMC decision is a sequence, not a single document. The first release gives the decision; later material adds context and a more complete account of the discussion.
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| Release layer | Normal timing | What it contributes | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy statement | 2:00 p.m. ET on decision day | Committee decision, vote and concise assessment of conditions | The full range of views discussed in the meeting |
| Implementation note | Released with the decision package | Operational settings used to implement policy | A separate forecast for future policy |
| Summary of Economic Projections | March, June, September and December decision days | Participant projections for growth, unemployment, inflation and the appropriate policy rate | A binding Committee rate path |
| Chair's press conference | 2:30 p.m. ET | Explanation and answers to reporters' questions | A replacement for the written statement or projections |
| Meeting minutes | Three weeks after a regular decision | Fuller account of the discussion and participants' views | New policy adopted on the minutes-release date |
| Complete transcript | Five years later | Detailed historical record | A tool for interpreting the live decision in real time |
The Federal Reserve's FOMC explainer confirms that the Committee issues a statement after each regular meeting, the Chair briefs the press after each meeting, minutes follow three weeks later and complete transcripts are released with a five-year lag.
For a projection meeting, download the statement and the projection tables separately. Reading only the press conference risks missing precise wording; reading only the statement misses the distribution and uncertainty in participants' forecasts.
Why the Tokyo Release Time Changes in December
Japan is 13 hours ahead of New York while the U.S. East Coast is on Eastern Daylight Time and 14 hours ahead while it is on Eastern Standard Time. NIST says U.S. daylight-saving time in 2026 runs from March 8 until November 1.
That creates a simple conversion rule for the remaining meetings:
- September 16 at 2:00 p.m. EDT plus 13 hours equals September 17 at 3:00 a.m. JST.
- October 28 at 2:00 p.m. EDT plus 13 hours equals October 29 at 3:00 a.m. JST.
- December 9 at 2:00 p.m. EST plus 14 hours equals December 10 at 4:00 a.m. JST.
The date rollover matters. A calendar reminder labeled only “September 16” can place the event on the wrong Tokyo day. Asia-based readers should store both the Federal Reserve date in Eastern Time and the local date in their own calendar.
The release precedes the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 9:00 a.m. cash-market open by six hours in September and October and by five hours in December. ATG Press explains the Tokyo session and midday break in its guide to Japan stock market hours.
Which 2026 Meetings Include Economic Projections?
The March, June, September and December meetings are associated with the Summary of Economic Projections, usually shortened to SEP. The Federal Reserve says participants provide individual projections for real gross domestic product growth, unemployment, inflation and the appropriate federal funds rate.
The familiar “dot plot” is the distribution of participants' assessments of an appropriate policy rate, not a collectively agreed promise. Each projection depends on that participant's economic outlook and policy assumptions. The Fed's guide to the Summary of Economic Projections also emphasizes ranges, uncertainty and risks around the forecasts.
For the two remaining projection meetings, a disciplined reading order is:
1. Read the policy statement for the actual decision and vote. 2. Compare the new median economic projections with the prior SEP, while retaining the definitions and forecast periods. 3. Inspect the full distribution of policy-rate projections rather than only the median dot. 4. Read the uncertainty and risk assessments. 5. Use the press conference to understand how the Chair describes the Committee's reaction function, without converting conditional language into a guarantee.
An asterisk beside a meeting date therefore means “more official material to read,” not “a larger or more predictable policy move.”
A Practical Decision-Day Checklist
Start with primary sources. Financial calendars and news alerts are useful reminders, but the Federal Reserve page is the authority for dates and release links.
- Recheck the official FOMC calendar after the preceding meeting confirms the next date.
- Store the local date as well as the U.S. date; every remaining 2026 decision arrives the following day in Japan.
- At 2:00 p.m. ET, save the statement and implementation note from the same meeting entry.
- At a starred meeting, download the projection tables and accessible version rather than relying on an image of the dot plot.
- At 2:30 p.m. ET, distinguish prepared explanations from answers to reporter questions.
- Three weeks later, return to the meeting entry for the minutes and compare them with what the statement disclosed.
- Record the publication date and data period of every document before using it in analysis.
This sequence separates what the Committee decided, what participants projected, what the Chair explained and what the later minutes revealed about the discussion.
Why the Calendar Matters for Japan-Focused Research
The FOMC is a U.S. institution, but its release timing is part of a Tokyo research workflow. Interest-rate expectations can affect the dollar, Treasury yields and global risk pricing; those channels can in turn shape the information available before Japanese cash equities open. The calendar does not predict the direction or size of any move.
For currency research, policy rates are only one input. Intervention operations, official liquidity facilities and central-bank communication have different mechanics. The ATG Press guide to U.S.-Japan yen intervention and FIMA explains why those tools should not be collapsed into one “Japan versus Fed” narrative.
The practical advantage is preparation. A Tokyo-based analyst can know when the official documents arrive, which package to expect and how much time remains before the local cash session. That is more durable than trying to forecast the market's first reaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the next FOMC meeting in 2026?
The next scheduled meeting is September 15-16, 2026. The decision is due September 16 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, which is September 17 at 3:00 a.m. JST. The press conference follows at 3:30 a.m. JST.
How many FOMC meetings are there in 2026?
There are eight regularly scheduled meetings. The Fed may also hold other meetings as needed.
Which remaining meetings have a dot plot?
The September 15-16 and December 8-9 meetings include a Summary of Economic Projections. The October 27-28 meeting does not.
Are all future FOMC dates final?
No. The Federal Reserve says each future date is tentative until confirmed at the meeting immediately preceding it. Always recheck the official calendar.
Does the FOMC release minutes on decision day?
No. The policy statement is released on decision day. Minutes for a regularly scheduled meeting are released three weeks later.
Update Policy
This calendar was checked against Federal Reserve and NIST sources on August 29, 2026. It should be updated after each remaining meeting to add the official statement, implementation note, projection materials when applicable and minutes. A future annual edition should rebuild every local-time conversion rather than copying the prior year's dates.
Continue Your Japan Equity Research
Build the next step of your Japan-stock research with these related ATG Press guides.
- Japan Stock Market Hours — Check TSE open, close, lunch-break and auction times across major time zones.
- Nikkei 225 vs TOPIX — Compare how Japan's two best-known equity indexes are built and used.
- Japanese Fiscal Year — Translate Japanese FY and quarter labels into exact reporting periods.
Sources
- Federal Reserve: FOMC meeting calendars, statements and minutes
- Federal Reserve: September 2026 events calendar
- Federal Reserve: What is the FOMC and when does it meet?
- Federal Reserve: What is the Summary of Economic Projections?
- Federal Reserve: Guide to the Summary of Economic Projections
- NIST: Daylight Saving Time Rules for 2026
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Meeting dates and release times can change; verify them on the Federal Reserve's official website before relying on them.
