Japan

Asian speciality drinks was well-positioned to benefit from the increased focus on health brought about by COVID-19. However, most of these products are also available in liquid concentrate format. With consumers staying at home, off-trade volume…

The continued share gains being made by plastic pouches in home care packaging in Japan can be attributed to this pack type being lightweight and easy to handle, making them a popular choice for home care products such as laundry detergents and…

Although their packaging unit volumes were down slightly in 2022, bath additives have recorded significant growth in Japan in recent years as Japanese consumers believe in the cultural significance of bathing, which goes beyond mere hygiene to…

2020 was an unprecedented year globally, and this was reflected in computers in Japan. Being the most used operating system for computers, the launch of a new Windows OS and the end of support of a Windows OS were key triggers for replacement…

2022 was a difficult year for players in consumer electronics. Price increases on materials, including semiconductor chips, and the weakened Japanese yen made it difficult for brands to secure profits. Some could easily apply price increases for…

Headphones in Japan saw fairly flat sales in 2022, and this is set to continue in 2023. Both in volume and current value terms, these two years are set to see growth or declines of less than 1%. Looking at category performances in volume terms,…

2023 is set to be another year of volume decline for home audio and cinema. Indeed, sales in the category have been decreasing for over a decade. It is clear that the decrease is due to a structural shift in how consumers engage with music. This has…

There was huge demand for televisions in the country little more than a decade ago. During the period 2009-2011, two drivers pushed up sales of televisions significantly. One was the shift of broadcasting from analogue to digital in July 2011. The…

Volume sales of digital cameras are set to see another year of decline in 2023. Over the last decade, volume sales have been on an unstoppable decreasing trend. One factor which is positive, however, is that the negative volume growth rate expected…

After a double-digit retail volume decrease was seen for in-car entertainment in 2020, brought about by home seclusion during the pandemic, in-car entertainment experienced a further almost double-digit decline in 2021. The decrease slowed in 2022,…

A truth in smartphones is that it is a scale business. The larger the volume produced, the better the cost, because it is easier to receive volume discounts from device makers. Large global players such as Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi enjoy this…

It was in May 2022 that Apple announced it was discontinuing its iPod brand. Apple’s iPod is an iconic device, changing the face of music over the last two decades. With the advertising copy “1,000 songs in your pocket”, the first model debuted in…

Wearable electronics saw strong volume growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has continued, with double-digit growth expected in 2023. Health consciousness amongst consumers has spiked since COVID-19, and from 2020 there has been a wide…

Economic freedom in Japan continues to benefit the private sector, as does limited corruption, but fiscal health remains weak. Unemployment is low, but the economy faces external forces that are weakening its performance. Ageing and depopulation…

Airlines is regaining momentum along with deregulation related to COVID-19, and the return of inbound tourism. However, the supply side has not kept pace with this recovery. The process of restoring the business structure is taking time, after many…

COVID-19 has changed various elements in businesses, from the implementation of working from home, to the normalisation of online meetings, and paperless applications and approvals. With such momentum, this has also triggered an acceleration of the…

During COVID-19, lodging in Japan suffered greatly due to various travel restrictions, leading many outlets to close temporarily, or even some to close altogether. However, in 2023, when travel restrictions were lifted completely early in the year,…

Lagging slightly behind many other countries globally, Japan finally eased its various regulations around COVID-19 in 2023. This has been very significant for the travel industry, not only in terms of deregulation, but also in terms of changes in…

Japan finally eased its various regulations around COVID-19 in 2023. This has had a significant impact on the travel industry in 2023, not only in terms of deregulation, but also in terms of changes in consumers’ perception of and behaviour towards…

Although sales declined slightly in 2022, RTDs had been recording strong growth in the previous years of the review period. RTDs have been experiencing a surge in popularity within Japan's alcoholic drinks market due to their convenient and…

Milk formula is set to see a decline in retail volume terms in Japan in 2023, due to the continuous decline in the number of new born babies. Although the birth rate in Japan has been continuously declining for decades, the pandemic accelerated the…

Butter is set to decline in retail volume terms in 2023, due to the impact of inflation, which has been driving up unit prices. The price of butter had been stable over the last few years, as many products, such as Meiji Hokkaido Butter, are locally…

Cheese is set to see solid growth in retail current value terms in Japan in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases due to inflation and the rising cost of raw materials and energy. Major dairy players such as Megmilk Snow Brand, Meiji Co Ltd,…

Dairy products and alternatives is set to continue to grow in current value terms in Japan in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases, due to inflation and increases in production costs. Most of the categories within dairy products and…

In 2023, drinking milk products in Japan, which includes flavoured milk drinks, milk, and powder milk, is set to remain at almost the same level of sales as the previous year in current value terms. However, retail volumes are set to suffer a notable…

In 2023, other dairy is expected to suffer a significant decline in retail volume terms in Japan, as consumers have been tightening their belts in response to higher living costs. Other dairy manufacturers had already implemented price increases in…

Plant-based dairy is set to see a decline in retail volume terms in 2023, largely due to the decline in soy drinks, which accounts for nearly 85% of overall sales in retail value terms in plant-based dairy. Over the review period, soy drinks saw…

Yoghurt is set to see growth in retail current value terms in Japan in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases. However, retail volumes are set to suffer a decline, as consumers are becoming more selective and conscious about the purchases they…

Despite macroeconomic adversity on a global scale, demand from tourists was on the rise in 2023, with a growing number of visitors taking their holidays in Japan. This was an improvement on previous years, when the pandemic prevented people from…

Value sales of fine wines/champagne and spirits grew by 8% to total JPY433.1 billion in 2023, boosted by consumers’ desire to enjoy themselves after the pandemic. Socialising over a drink with friends remains a priority pastime for many, following on…

Retail value sales of luxury goods in Japan grew by 4% in 2023 in current terms, to amount to JPY5.3 trillion. There was a clear focus on recovery post-lockdown, with luxury shoppers keen to indulge in activities that may have been off-limits during…

Personal luxury retail value sales rose by 7% in 2023 to total JPY3.4 trillion, supporting growth recorded by leading brand providers such as Louis Vuitton Japan KK. In 2023, sales were boosted by investment in luxury goods such as designer apparel…

Value sales of premium and luxury cars went down by 2% to total JPY1.5 trillion in 2023. A significant increase in sales was seen in 2022, as a rebound was seen as the pandemic eased, and this exceptional level of growth was unable to be sustained in…

Sales of analgesics in Japan have seen solid growth in current value terms in 2023 backed by increased opportunities for consumers to go out, the recovery in the number of inbound tourists, and a move away from the practice of wearing face masks on a…

Sales of OTC products in Japan continue on the path to recovery in 2023 as the country sees an end to the pandemic. With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the pandemic to be over in early 2023 there have been increased opportunities to go…

Sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Japan have continued to recover in 2023. This is largely due to increased opportunities for consumers to go out and a shift away from the practice of wearing face masks on a daily basis. With…

Dermatologicals has seen a return to growth in current value terms in 2023, which is mainly due to the waning impact of COVID-19 on consumer lifestyles and behaviours. Antipruritics is one of the largest categories within dermatologicals and has also…

Similar to the pattern seen in vitamins, sales of dietary supplements continue to see steady growth in current value terms in 2023 due to increasing health consciousness. The market has been hit by the rising cost of raw materials and production…

Sales of digestive remedies continue to see a strong recovery in 2023 in current value terms. Sales are rebounding from the negative impact of the pandemic with the lifting of restrictions increasing the opportunities for consumers to go out to eat…

With the pandemic declared to be over in 2023, sales of both standard eye care and allergy eye care have benefited from increased opportunities to get out and about, a recovery in the number of inbound travellers, but also high pollen counts.…

In 2023, with COVID-19 moving to a class 5 disease and restrictions on social behaviour being lifted, consumers started to go out without wearing masks, leading to an increase in influenza, infectious diseases with cough symptoms, and heat stroke. In…

Regulations against smoking are becoming stricter worldwide, and the situation is no different in Japan. These stricter rules have encouraged large numbers of smokers to quit, especially since the law banning smoking indoors in principle (Health…

Overall, sales of paediatric consumer health are in decline in current value terms in Japan in 2023. Nonetheless, the performances vary by product category with some benefiting from a post-pandemic recovery while others are facing headwinds. For…

The potential market for sleep aids is expanding in Japan off the back of an increasing number of consumers facing poor sleep quality and fewer hours of sleep. This drop in quality sleep is due in part to a rise in telecommuting and prolonged use of…

Sports nutrition was one of the most dynamic areas of consumer health in Japan over the review period, including during and after the pandemic. The category has been rapidly expanding thanks to an increasingly health conscious population, but also…

Sales of multivitamins and single vitamins in Japan have continued to grow in current value terms in 2023, reflecting the ongoing consumer interest in healthy living. Multivitamins are seen as an easy and convenient way for consumers to address their…

Demand for weight management and wellbeing products has continued to grow in the wake of the pandemic as consumers have looked to shed the weight gained during lockdown and home seclusion, but also due increased health consciousness. Although having…

Wound care tends to show high demand during the summer when more skin is exposed and opportunities for outdoor leisure and sports activities increase, with this increasing the risk of picking up injuries. Sales of wound care therefore benefited in…

The health and wellness industry continues to grow in importance post-pandemic as consumers become more aware of the negative health impact of processed foods, seeking healthier foods and beverages from a range of claims such as natural, organic,…

Japanese consumers have relatively high interest in functional products, and generally trust the claims on the packaging and in marketing activities. With the aim of assisting consumers to make more informed choices, a system of Foods with Function…