Japan

Overall demand for fish and seafood remains subdued in 2023, mainly driven by a decline in retail volume sales due to increasing prices. Impacted by the soaring cost of oil, the average retail unit price of fish and seafood recorded a double-digit…

Total volume sales of fresh food in Japan continue to record marginal growth in 2023, mainly driven by foodservice as the channel recovers from the significant drop during the pandemic. Foodservice volume sales suffered as COVID-19 first hit Japan,…

Total volume sales of fruits in Japan continue to rebound in 2023, mainly driven by foodservice’s performance following the channel’s strong declines during the pandemic. Foodservice volume sales of fruits had suffered throughout 2020 and 2021, when…

Total demand for meat in Japan has remained fairly stable in 2023, supported by the ongoing recovery of foodservice sales, which is offsetting the decline in retail. Like many categories, foodservice volume sales of meat experienced significant…

Total volume of nuts in Japan are gradually rising in 2023, mainly driven by the rebound in foodservice demand. Foodservice volume sales had suffered throughout 2020 and 2021 with Japan following quasi-states of emergency and states of emergency.…

Total volume sales of pulses in Japan continue to grow in 2023, albeit slowly, mainly driven by the further rebound of foodservice. Throughout 2020 and 2021, foodservice volume sales of pulses in Japan suffered, as several cities, such as Tokyo,…

Total demand for starchy roots in Japan continues to improve in 2023, mainly driven by foodservice and retail channels. Like many categories of fresh food, foodservice volume sales of starchy roots experienced significant declines at the height of…

Total demand for sugar and sweeteners in Japan remains stable in 2023 compared to the previous year, with foodservice volume sales partially offsetting the decline in retail volume sales. Foodservice volume sales had suffered throughout 2020 and…

Overall demand for vegetables in Japan continues to increase in 2023, mainly driven by the more impressive performance by foodservice. Like many other categories of fresh food, foodservice sales of vegetables in Japan suffered significant declines at…

Currently, there are no sales of medical cannabis in Japan, although the illegal cannabis market continues to grow, along with legal CBD & other non-intoxicating cannabinoids. However, an amendment to Japan’s Cannabis Control Law was passed in…

Tourism was one of the industries that was significantly impacted by COVID-19, as border restrictions were tightened globally. Many consumers also refrained from taking domestic trips in the first phase of the pandemic. There were multiple forms of…

Jewellery is set to maintain growth in retail volume and current value terms in 2023, with growth for both costume and fine jewellery, although this will slow compared with previous years. Polarisation has continued in jewellery in Japan in 2023,…

In 2023, there was a symbolic pivot in how Japan faced COVID-19. It was in May that the government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 from a Class 2 infectious disease to a Class 5 infectious disease. Class 2 meant it was a crucial disease…

Increasing unit prices has been a decades-long trend in traditional watches. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, unit prices rose by over 10% YoY from 2020 to 2022. The last decade also saw numerous years of volume decline. A main reason behind…

According to Euromonitor’s Economies and Consumers data, the population aged 0-14 is set to decline by 2% between 2022 and 2023, accounting for only 11% of the total population in Japan. The total population of this age group has declined for 40…

In 2022, heightened environmental consciousness among the Japanese, coupled with the government’s goal of reducing disposable plastic waste by 25% over the next 10 years, drove various industries to switch towards sustainable packaging solutions.…

In May 2023, the Japanese government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to class 5, which led to a rebound in footfall for consumer foodservice. Consumers returned to going out, and enjoyed dining out. In particular, bars/pubs, which suffered…

In 2023, Japan relaxed its COVID-19 rules, which boosted the travel industry. These changes altered how people, both local and foreign visitors, viewed and approached travel, which aided recovery. In terms of local travel, COVID-19 became less of a…

Consumer foodservice continued to see strong recovery in Japan in 2023, posting double-digit growth in current value sales in line with the recovery of flows of consumers after the downgrading of the status of COVID-19. On 8 May 2023, the Japanese…

After COVID-19 was downgraded to class 5 in May 2023, consumers felt more comfortable eating out. This contributed to a sales rebound for full-service restaurants, but challenges remained. Costs continued to rise, and players continued to find it…

Limited-service restaurants continued to see a positive current value performance in 2023, mainly driven by unit price increases. Although some companies had already implemented price increases in 2022, it became inevitable that they would raise…

On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same classification as seasonal flu. As a result, decisions regarding infection control were left to individuals and…

Street stalls/kiosks continued to see an increase in current value sales in 2023, thanks to the rising popularity of food trucks. Even during the pandemic, food trucks were less negatively impacted thanks to their mobility, which allowed them to…

The leading player in apparel and footwear specialists, Fast Retailing, has been focusing on experiences in its stores. Having both an offline and online presence, the retailer aims to differentiate its physical stores by providing customers with…

Yodobashi partnered with Fortress Investment Group in the acquisition of the department store brands Seibu and Sogo from Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd, and is hoping to establish a new store in Ikebukuro. Ikebukuro is one of the largest towns in Japan,…

On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same classification as seasonal flu. This shift pushed consumers in Japan to go back to their pre-COVID-19 behaviours,…

Direct selling continues to face headwinds due to the ageing of the customer base, and the loss of recruitment opportunities due to changes in social behaviour since the pandemic. On the other hand, some players saw rising sales in 2023, as society…

In 2023, department stores benefited from a rebound in the number of tourists visiting Japan and the depreciation of the yen. Although it lagged somewhat behind other countries, Japan finally lifted COVID-19 regulations in 2023. As for the recovery…

On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same classification as seasonal flu. As a result, decisions regarding infection control are now left to individuals and…

Home products specialists saw growth in current value terms in 2023. Increases were seen across all channels, but as in the previous year, growth was driven mainly by homewares and home furnishing stores. The leading player in this channel, Nitori,…

Hypermarkets usually sell a wider range of products compared with other types of grocery retailers, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, but may not be as centrally positioned or as favoured for regular visits. Nevertheless, hypermarkets…

After e-commerce showed double-digit current value growth during COVID-19 in 2020, growth slowed significantly in 2021, and remained at this lower level in 2022 and 2023, as with the reopening of physical stores post-pandemic, fewer people made the…

Retail maintained solid current value growth in Japan in 2023, with increases across both offline and e-commerce. In 2023, offline retail regained stronger momentum due to the return of mobility post-COVID-19. On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government…

Traditionally, Japanese consumers have enjoyed shopping in areas called Shotengai, where many small shops, including small local grocers, are lined up along the streets. Customers visit different specialist shops to buy their vegetables, fish, and…

In 2023, price rises were seen across various industries in Japan, impacting the cost of living. During COVID-19, consumers’ eating habits shifted more towards cooking and eating at home. Despite the country gradually returning to the pre-COVID-19…

Vending machines have a significant presence in Japan, and have been part of the local culture for decades. Vending is a contactless, unmanned, compact, and convenient way of shopping. Although sales declined during the pandemic, a rebound was seen…

Air care had been seeing steady growth in value sales in the pre-pandemic years, and in 2020, when the pandemic hit Japan, there was further significant growth. As interest in indoor air quality improved along with much more time spent at home and…

In 2020 bleach saw an unexpected increase in both volume and current value sales, as COVID-19 hit the country. Some consumers were very concerned about the pandemic, and became especially hygiene-conscious, therefore using bleach to clean their…

Dishwashing saw strong growth in current value terms in 2023. However, in volume terms sales were almost flat between 2022 and 2023. What pushed up value sales was increases in unit prices. Japan had seen nearly three decades of virtual economic…

2020 and 2021 were closed years for Japan, with home seclusion as the basis of everyday life due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2022 the situation began to change, as the level of risk reduced, and people went out to socialise more, workers went back…

In 2023, current value sales of home insecticides in Japan registered positive growth from the previous year; however, volume sales declined. The decline in volume sales can be attributed to the fading of COVID-19. The pandemic had much less of an…

Laundry care saw growth in retail current value terms in 2023. However, retail volume sales fell by an even larger amount than the drop seen in 2022. What pushed up value sales was price increases. Japan saw three decades with little growth in the…

Floor polish is not a standard product for many younger households. It may have been used by older generations, but the custom of polishing the floor with wax products has not been passed down to the younger generations. First, it is very…

Most categories within surface care saw declines in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. The explanation for the drop in volume terms is simple – people began to spend more time outside the home. In May 2023, the Japanese government…

A typical performance amongst home care categories in Japan in 2023 was that volume sales fell, whilst average unit prices increased, driving up value sales as a result. However, toilet care was a little different. The category saw significant…

Away-from-home (AFH) tissue and hygiene maintained dynamic current value growth in Japan in 2023. Inbound tourism was one of the major economic boosters in Japan until COVID-19 hit the country from early 2020. It was a disaster for most industries…

Volume sales of menstrual care products fell faster than the decline in the female population aged 12-54 in Japan in 2023, according to Euromonitor’s Consumers data. One reason was price increases. Inflation was seen globally after the pandemic,…

In 2023, nappies/diapers pants witnessed another year of significant retail volume decline in Japan, despite seeing growth in current value terms. There is no sign of a weakening of the decrease in the number of births in Japan. According to…

Looking at the performance of retail adult incontinence in Japan in 2023, current value growth was underpinned by price increases. The overall category saw a double-digit increase in the average unit price in current terms, which turned the low…

Retail tissue turned to decline in Japan in volume terms in 2023, although current value growth continued. 2022 and 2023 were years of price increases for the category. For instance, Daio Paper increased the B2C product shipment price by 15% or more…