diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux_meson.yml b/.github/workflows/linux_meson.yml
index 8ef0e5752119..b489c9e3f12f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linux_meson.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux_meson.yml
@@ -68,5 +68,6 @@ jobs:
         TERM: xterm-256color
         LD_LIBRARY_PATH: "/usr/local/lib/"  # to find libopenblas.so.0
       run: |
+        export NPY_RUN_MYPY_IN_TESTSUITE=1
         pip install pytest pytest-xdist hypothesis typing_extensions
         spin test -j auto
diff --git a/.github/workflows/wheels.yml b/.github/workflows/wheels.yml
index 5a33200089ab..506a6d59f3eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/wheels.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/wheels.yml
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ jobs:
           - [ubuntu-20.04, musllinux_x86_64]
           - [macos-12, macosx_x86_64]
           - [windows-2019, win_amd64]
-        python: ["cp39", "cp310", "cp311", "cp312"]  # "pp39"
+        python: ["cp39", "cp310", "cp311", "cp312", "pp39"]
         exclude:
           # Don't build PyPy 32-bit windows
           - buildplat: [windows-2019, win32]
diff --git a/numpy/__init__.py b/numpy/__init__.py
index b4b33320b9f9..cf852aeadd14 100644
--- a/numpy/__init__.py
+++ b/numpy/__init__.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
     NumPy testing tools
 distutils
     Enhancements to distutils with support for
-    Fortran compilers support and more.
+    Fortran compilers support and more  (for Python <= 3.11).
 
 Utilities
 ---------
diff --git a/numpy/_pytesttester.py b/numpy/_pytesttester.py
index 01ddaaf98834..1c38291ae331 100644
--- a/numpy/_pytesttester.py
+++ b/numpy/_pytesttester.py
@@ -135,12 +135,13 @@ def __call__(self, label='fast', verbose=1, extra_argv=None,
         # offset verbosity. The "-q" cancels a "-v".
         pytest_args += ["-q"]
 
-        with warnings.catch_warnings():
-            warnings.simplefilter("always")
-            # Filter out distutils cpu warnings (could be localized to
-            # distutils tests). ASV has problems with top level import,
-            # so fetch module for suppression here.
-            from numpy.distutils import cpuinfo
+        if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+            with warnings.catch_warnings():
+                warnings.simplefilter("always")
+                # Filter out distutils cpu warnings (could be localized to
+                # distutils tests). ASV has problems with top level import,
+                # so fetch module for suppression here.
+                from numpy.distutils import cpuinfo
 
         with warnings.catch_warnings(record=True):
             # Ignore the warning from importing the array_api submodule. This
diff --git a/numpy/core/meson.build b/numpy/core/meson.build
index ab773c56d735..17760efa2fc0 100644
--- a/numpy/core/meson.build
+++ b/numpy/core/meson.build
@@ -50,7 +50,10 @@ C_API_VERSION = '0x00000011'
 
 # Check whether we have a mismatch between the set C API VERSION and the
 # actual C API VERSION. Will raise a MismatchCAPIError if so.
-r = run_command('code_generators/verify_c_api_version.py', '--api-version', C_API_VERSION)
+r = run_command(
+  'code_generators/verify_c_api_version.py', '--api-version', C_API_VERSION,
+  check: true
+)
 
 if r.returncode() != 0
   error('verify_c_api_version.py failed with output:\n' + r.stderr().strip())
diff --git a/numpy/core/tests/test_array_interface.py b/numpy/core/tests/test_array_interface.py
index 8b1ab27c5cd3..16c719c5a5b9 100644
--- a/numpy/core/tests/test_array_interface.py
+++ b/numpy/core/tests/test_array_interface.py
@@ -128,6 +128,9 @@ def get_module(tmp_path):
                                                more_init=more_init)
 
 
+# FIXME: numpy.testing.extbuild uses `numpy.distutils`, so this won't work on
+# Python 3.12 and up.
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.version_info >= (3, 12), reason="no numpy.distutils")
 @pytest.mark.slow
 def test_cstruct(get_module):
 
diff --git a/numpy/core/tests/test_dtype.py b/numpy/core/tests/test_dtype.py
index 57831f46f431..81692015fc5e 100644
--- a/numpy/core/tests/test_dtype.py
+++ b/numpy/core/tests/test_dtype.py
@@ -756,6 +756,11 @@ def iter_struct_object_dtypes():
     yield pytest.param(dt, p, 12, obj, id="<structured subarray 2>")
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    sys.version_info >= (3, 12),
+    reason="Python 3.12 has immortal refcounts, this test will no longer "
+           "work. See gh-23986"
+)
 @pytest.mark.skipif(not HAS_REFCOUNT, reason="Python lacks refcounts")
 class TestStructuredObjectRefcounting:
     """These tests cover various uses of complicated structured types which
diff --git a/numpy/core/tests/test_regression.py b/numpy/core/tests/test_regression.py
index 841144790e31..678c727db479 100644
--- a/numpy/core/tests/test_regression.py
+++ b/numpy/core/tests/test_regression.py
@@ -1464,6 +1464,10 @@ def test_structured_arrays_with_objects1(self):
         x[x.nonzero()] = x.ravel()[:1]
         assert_(x[0, 1] == x[0, 0])
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        sys.version_info >= (3, 12),
+        reason="Python 3.12 has immortal refcounts, this test no longer works."
+    )
     @pytest.mark.skipif(not HAS_REFCOUNT, reason="Python lacks refcounts")
     def test_structured_arrays_with_objects2(self):
         # Ticket #1299 second test
diff --git a/numpy/lib/tests/test_format.py b/numpy/lib/tests/test_format.py
index 701eebbf0023..3bbbb215bb77 100644
--- a/numpy/lib/tests/test_format.py
+++ b/numpy/lib/tests/test_format.py
@@ -527,6 +527,7 @@ def test_load_padded_dtype(tmpdir, dt):
     assert_array_equal(arr, arr1)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.version_info >= (3, 12), reason="see gh-23988")
 @pytest.mark.xfail(IS_WASM, reason="Emscripten NODEFS has a buggy dup")
 def test_python2_python3_interoperability():
     fname = 'win64python2.npy'
diff --git a/numpy/tests/test_ctypeslib.py b/numpy/tests/test_ctypeslib.py
index 1ea0837008b7..63906b0f41cb 100644
--- a/numpy/tests/test_ctypeslib.py
+++ b/numpy/tests/test_ctypeslib.py
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import sys
-import pytest
+import sysconfig
 import weakref
 from pathlib import Path
 
+import pytest
+
 import numpy as np
 from numpy.ctypeslib import ndpointer, load_library, as_array
-from numpy.distutils.misc_util import get_shared_lib_extension
 from numpy.testing import assert_, assert_array_equal, assert_raises, assert_equal
 
 try:
@@ -52,12 +53,9 @@ def test_basic2(self):
         # Regression for #801: load_library with a full library name
         # (including extension) does not work.
         try:
-            try:
-                so = get_shared_lib_extension(is_python_ext=True)
-                # Should succeed
-                load_library('_multiarray_umath%s' % so, np.core._multiarray_umath.__file__)
-            except ImportError:
-                print("No distutils available, skipping test.")
+            so_ext = sysconfig.get_config_var('EXT_SUFFIX')
+            load_library('_multiarray_umath%s' % so_ext,
+                         np.core._multiarray_umath.__file__)
         except ImportError as e:
             msg = ("ctypes is not available on this python: skipping the test"
                    " (import error was: %s)" % str(e))
diff --git a/numpy/tests/test_public_api.py b/numpy/tests/test_public_api.py
index eaa89aa6f749..555f1638413d 100644
--- a/numpy/tests/test_public_api.py
+++ b/numpy/tests/test_public_api.py
@@ -127,12 +127,6 @@ def test_NPY_NO_EXPORT():
     "array_api",
     "array_api.linalg",
     "ctypeslib",
-    "distutils",
-    "distutils.cpuinfo",
-    "distutils.exec_command",
-    "distutils.misc_util",
-    "distutils.log",
-    "distutils.system_info",
     "doc",
     "doc.constants",
     "doc.ufuncs",
@@ -165,6 +159,18 @@ def test_NPY_NO_EXPORT():
     "typing.mypy_plugin",
     "version",
 ]]
+if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+    PUBLIC_MODULES += [
+        'numpy.' + s for s in [
+            "distutils",
+            "distutils.cpuinfo",
+            "distutils.exec_command",
+            "distutils.misc_util",
+            "distutils.log",
+            "distutils.system_info",
+        ]
+    ]
+
 
 
 PUBLIC_ALIASED_MODULES = [
@@ -193,62 +199,6 @@ def test_NPY_NO_EXPORT():
     "core.records",
     "core.shape_base",
     "core.umath",
-    "core.umath_tests",
-    "distutils.armccompiler",
-    "distutils.fujitsuccompiler",
-    "distutils.ccompiler",
-    'distutils.ccompiler_opt',
-    "distutils.command",
-    "distutils.command.autodist",
-    "distutils.command.bdist_rpm",
-    "distutils.command.build",
-    "distutils.command.build_clib",
-    "distutils.command.build_ext",
-    "distutils.command.build_py",
-    "distutils.command.build_scripts",
-    "distutils.command.build_src",
-    "distutils.command.config",
-    "distutils.command.config_compiler",
-    "distutils.command.develop",
-    "distutils.command.egg_info",
-    "distutils.command.install",
-    "distutils.command.install_clib",
-    "distutils.command.install_data",
-    "distutils.command.install_headers",
-    "distutils.command.sdist",
-    "distutils.conv_template",
-    "distutils.core",
-    "distutils.extension",
-    "distutils.fcompiler",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.absoft",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.arm",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.compaq",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.environment",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.g95",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.gnu",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.hpux",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.ibm",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.intel",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.lahey",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.mips",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.nag",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.none",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.pathf95",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.pg",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.nv",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.sun",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.vast",
-    "distutils.fcompiler.fujitsu",
-    "distutils.from_template",
-    "distutils.intelccompiler",
-    "distutils.lib2def",
-    "distutils.line_endings",
-    "distutils.mingw32ccompiler",
-    "distutils.msvccompiler",
-    "distutils.npy_pkg_config",
-    "distutils.numpy_distribution",
-    "distutils.pathccompiler",
-    "distutils.unixccompiler",
     "f2py.auxfuncs",
     "f2py.capi_maps",
     "f2py.cb_rules",
@@ -290,6 +240,66 @@ def test_NPY_NO_EXPORT():
     "random.bit_generator",
     "testing.print_coercion_tables",
 ]]
+if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+    PRIVATE_BUT_PRESENT_MODULES += [
+        'numpy.' + s for s in [
+            "distutils.armccompiler",
+            "distutils.fujitsuccompiler",
+            "distutils.ccompiler",
+            'distutils.ccompiler_opt',
+            "distutils.command",
+            "distutils.command.autodist",
+            "distutils.command.bdist_rpm",
+            "distutils.command.build",
+            "distutils.command.build_clib",
+            "distutils.command.build_ext",
+            "distutils.command.build_py",
+            "distutils.command.build_scripts",
+            "distutils.command.build_src",
+            "distutils.command.config",
+            "distutils.command.config_compiler",
+            "distutils.command.develop",
+            "distutils.command.egg_info",
+            "distutils.command.install",
+            "distutils.command.install_clib",
+            "distutils.command.install_data",
+            "distutils.command.install_headers",
+            "distutils.command.sdist",
+            "distutils.conv_template",
+            "distutils.core",
+            "distutils.extension",
+            "distutils.fcompiler",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.absoft",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.arm",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.compaq",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.environment",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.g95",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.gnu",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.hpux",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.ibm",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.intel",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.lahey",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.mips",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.nag",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.none",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.pathf95",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.pg",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.nv",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.sun",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.vast",
+            "distutils.fcompiler.fujitsu",
+            "distutils.from_template",
+            "distutils.intelccompiler",
+            "distutils.lib2def",
+            "distutils.line_endings",
+            "distutils.mingw32ccompiler",
+            "distutils.msvccompiler",
+            "distutils.npy_pkg_config",
+            "distutils.numpy_distribution",
+            "distutils.pathccompiler",
+            "distutils.unixccompiler",
+        ]
+    ]
 
 
 def is_unexpected(name):
@@ -323,10 +333,14 @@ def is_unexpected(name):
     "numpy.core.code_generators.verify_c_api_version",
     "numpy.core.cversions",
     "numpy.core.generate_numpy_api",
-    "numpy.distutils.msvc9compiler",
+    "numpy.core.umath_tests",
 ]
+if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+    SKIP_LIST += ["numpy.distutils.msvc9compiler"]
 
 
+# suppressing warnings from deprecated modules
+@pytest.mark.filterwarnings("ignore:.*np.compat.*:DeprecationWarning")
 def test_all_modules_are_expected():
     """
     Test that we don't add anything that looks like a new public module by
@@ -351,9 +365,6 @@ def test_all_modules_are_expected():
 # below
 SKIP_LIST_2 = [
     'numpy.math',
-    'numpy.distutils.log.sys',
-    'numpy.distutils.log.logging',
-    'numpy.distutils.log.warnings',
     'numpy.doc.constants.re',
     'numpy.doc.constants.textwrap',
     'numpy.lib.emath',
@@ -369,6 +380,12 @@ def test_all_modules_are_expected():
     'numpy.matlib.ctypeslib',
     'numpy.matlib.ma',
 ]
+if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+    SKIP_LIST_2 += [
+        'numpy.distutils.log.sys',
+        'numpy.distutils.log.logging',
+        'numpy.distutils.log.warnings',
+    ]
 
 
 def test_all_modules_are_expected_2():
@@ -472,11 +489,7 @@ def check_importable(module_name):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.xfail(
-    hasattr(np.__config__, "_built_with_meson"),
-    reason = "Meson does not yet support entry points via pyproject.toml",
-)
-@pytest.mark.xfail(
-    sysconfig.get_config_var("Py_DEBUG") is not None,
+    sysconfig.get_config_var("Py_DEBUG") not in (None, 0, "0"),
     reason=(
         "NumPy possibly built with `USE_DEBUG=True ./tools/travis-test.sh`, "
         "which does not expose the `array_api` entry point. "
@@ -488,6 +501,11 @@ def test_array_api_entry_point():
     Entry point for Array API implementation can be found with importlib and
     returns the numpy.array_api namespace.
     """
+    # For a development install that did not go through meson-python,
+    # the entrypoint will not have been installed. So ensure this test fails
+    # only if numpy is inside site-packages.
+    numpy_in_sitepackages = sysconfig.get_path('platlib') in np.__file__
+
     eps = importlib.metadata.entry_points()
     try:
         xp_eps = eps.select(group="array_api")
@@ -497,12 +515,19 @@ def test_array_api_entry_point():
         # Array API entry points so that running this test in <=3.9 will
         # still work - see https://github.com/numpy/numpy/pull/19800.
         xp_eps = eps.get("array_api", [])
-    assert len(xp_eps) > 0, "No entry points for 'array_api' found"
+    if len(xp_eps) == 0:
+        if numpy_in_sitepackages:
+            msg = "No entry points for 'array_api' found"
+            raise AssertionError(msg) from None
+        return
 
     try:
         ep = next(ep for ep in xp_eps if ep.name == "numpy")
     except StopIteration:
-        raise AssertionError("'numpy' not in array_api entry points") from None
+        if numpy_in_sitepackages:
+            msg = "'numpy' not in array_api entry points"
+            raise AssertionError(msg) from None
+        return
 
     xp = ep.load()
     msg = (
diff --git a/numpy/typing/tests/test_isfile.py b/numpy/typing/tests/test_isfile.py
index a898b3e285b9..2ca2c9b21f94 100644
--- a/numpy/typing/tests/test_isfile.py
+++ b/numpy/typing/tests/test_isfile.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os
+import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import numpy as np
@@ -10,7 +11,6 @@
     ROOT / "__init__.pyi",
     ROOT / "ctypeslib.pyi",
     ROOT / "core" / "__init__.pyi",
-    ROOT / "distutils" / "__init__.pyi",
     ROOT / "f2py" / "__init__.pyi",
     ROOT / "fft" / "__init__.pyi",
     ROOT / "lib" / "__init__.pyi",
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
     ROOT / "random" / "__init__.pyi",
     ROOT / "testing" / "__init__.pyi",
 ]
+if sys.version_info < (3, 12):
+    FILES += [ROOT / "distutils" / "__init__.pyi"]
 
 
 class TestIsFile:
diff --git a/numpy/typing/tests/test_typing.py b/numpy/typing/tests/test_typing.py
index bcaaf5250c9d..491431a86351 100644
--- a/numpy/typing/tests/test_typing.py
+++ b/numpy/typing/tests/test_typing.py
@@ -18,6 +18,21 @@
     _C_INTP,
 )
 
+
+# Only trigger a full `mypy` run if this environment variable is set
+# Note that these tests tend to take over a minute even on a macOS M1 CPU,
+# and more than that in CI.
+RUN_MYPY = "NPY_RUN_MYPY_IN_TESTSUITE" in os.environ
+if RUN_MYPY and RUN_MYPY not in ('0', '', 'false'):
+    RUN_MYPY = True
+
+# Skips all functions in this file
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not RUN_MYPY,
+    reason="`NPY_RUN_MYPY_IN_TESTSUITE` not set"
+)
+
+
 try:
     from mypy import api
 except ImportError:
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 47fa0959bd3b..68361be2a881 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ tracker = "https://github.com/numpy/numpy/issues"
 # Note: the below skip command doesn't do much currently, the platforms to
 # build wheels for in CI are controlled in `.github/workflows/wheels.yml` and
 # `tools/ci/cirrus_wheels.yml`.
-skip = "cp36-* cp37-* cp-38* pp37-* *-manylinux_i686 *_ppc64le *_s390x *-musllinux_aarch64 *-win32"
+skip = "cp36-* cp37-* cp-38* pp37-* pp38-* *-manylinux_i686 *_ppc64le *_s390x *-musllinux_aarch64 *-win32"
 build-verbosity = "3"
 before-build = "bash {project}/tools/wheels/cibw_before_build.sh {project}"
 # meson has a hard dependency on ninja, and we need meson to build
diff --git a/tools/wheels/check_license.py b/tools/wheels/check_license.py
index 8ced317d674c..7d0ef7921a4e 100644
--- a/tools/wheels/check_license.py
+++ b/tools/wheels/check_license.py
@@ -7,10 +7,10 @@
 distribution.
 
 """
-import os
 import sys
 import re
 import argparse
+import pathlib
 
 
 def check_text(text):
@@ -33,8 +33,12 @@ def main():
     __import__(args.module)
     mod = sys.modules[args.module]
 
+    # LICENSE.txt is installed in the .dist-info directory, so find it there
+    sitepkgs = pathlib.Path(mod.__file__).parent.parent
+    distinfo_path = [s for s in sitepkgs.glob("numpy-*.dist-info")][0]
+
     # Check license text
-    license_txt = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(mod.__file__), "LICENSE.txt")
+    license_txt = distinfo_path / "LICENSE.txt"
     with open(license_txt, encoding="utf-8") as f:
         text = f.read()
 
diff --git a/tools/wheels/cibw_before_build.sh b/tools/wheels/cibw_before_build.sh
index 493cceeae4b1..372b25af09b8 100644
--- a/tools/wheels/cibw_before_build.sh
+++ b/tools/wheels/cibw_before_build.sh
@@ -29,15 +29,32 @@ if [[ $RUNNER_OS == "Linux" || $RUNNER_OS == "macOS" ]] ; then
         cp $basedir/include/* /usr/local/include
     fi
 elif [[ $RUNNER_OS == "Windows" ]]; then
+    # delvewheel is the equivalent of delocate/auditwheel for windows.
+    python -m pip install delvewheel
+
+    # make the DLL available for tools/wheels/repair_windows.sh. If you change
+    # this location you need to alter that script.
+    mkdir -p /c/opt/openblas/openblas_dll
+
     PYTHONPATH=tools python -c "import openblas_support; openblas_support.make_init('numpy')"
-    target=$(python tools/openblas_support.py)
-    ls /tmp
-    mkdir -p openblas
-    # bash on windows does not like cp -r $target/* openblas
-    for f in $(ls $target); do
-        cp -r $target/$f openblas
-    done
-    ls openblas
+    mkdir -p /c/opt/32/lib/pkgconfig
+    mkdir -p /c/opt/64/lib/pkgconfig
+    target=$(python -c "import tools.openblas_support as obs; plat=obs.get_plat(); ilp64=obs.get_ilp64(); target=f'openblas_{plat}.zip'; obs.download_openblas(target, plat, ilp64);print(target)")
+    if [[ $PLATFORM == 'win-32' ]]; then
+        # 32-bit openBLAS
+        # Download 32 bit openBLAS and put it into c/opt/32/lib
+        unzip -o -d /c/opt/ $target
+        cp /c/opt/32/bin/*.dll /c/opt/openblas/openblas_dll
+    else
+        # 64-bit openBLAS
+        unzip -o -d /c/opt/ $target
+        if [[ -f /c/opt/64/lib/pkgconfig/openblas64.pc ]]; then
+            # As of v0.3.23, the 64-bit interface has a openblas64.pc file,
+            # but this is wrong. It should be openblas.pc
+            cp /c/opt/64/lib/pkgconfig/openblas{64,}.pc
+        fi
+        cp /c/opt/64/bin/*.dll /c/opt/openblas/openblas_dll
+    fi
 fi
 
 if [[ $RUNNER_OS == "macOS" ]]; then
diff --git a/tools/wheels/cibw_test_command.sh b/tools/wheels/cibw_test_command.sh
index 36c275f32d91..c35fb56832e5 100644
--- a/tools/wheels/cibw_test_command.sh
+++ b/tools/wheels/cibw_test_command.sh
@@ -26,10 +26,7 @@ fi
 # Set available memory value to avoid OOM problems on aarch64.
 # See gh-22418.
 export NPY_AVAILABLE_MEM="4 GB"
-if [[ $(python -c "import sys; print(sys.implementation.name)") == "pypy" ]]; then
-  # make PyPy more verbose, try to catch a segfault
-  python -c "import sys; import numpy; sys.exit(not numpy.test(label='full', verbose=2))"
-else
-  python -c "import sys; import numpy; sys.exit(not numpy.test(label='full'))"
-fi
+# Run full tests with -n=auto. This makes pytest-xdist distribute tests across
+# the available N CPU cores: 2 by default for Linux instances and 4 for macOS arm64
+python -c "import sys; import numpy; sys.exit(not numpy.test(label='full', extra_argv=['-n=auto']))"
 python $PROJECT_DIR/tools/wheels/check_license.py