Japan

In 2023, liquid concentrates is set to see a decrease in off-trade volume and current value sales. This is mainly due to the decreased amount of time consumers having been spending at home in this year. Liquid concentrates saw a strong rise in…

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…

In 2023, colour cosmetics continued to grow strongly in Japan in current value terms, due to increased opportunities for trips outside the home and interpersonal communication following the COVID-19 reclassification, and the end of the habit of…

In 2023, sales of coffee in the foodservice channel are expected to record solid growth, thanks to the rebound of footfall in cafés and specialist coffee and tea shops. On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to…

Following an exceptional decline in 2022, which saw volume sales fall by half from 2021, cigarillos saw another significant drop in sales in 2023. Compared with 2020, which was the peak of volume sales, sales in 2023 were close to a quarter.

Cigarettes in Japan continued to decline in retail volume terms in 2023, marking the 11th consecutive year of decline. Cigarettes is still the largest tobacco category in Japan, accounting for over half of value sales; however, the decreasing…

In 2023, cider/perry in Japan witnessed a total volume decline. However, the on-trade rebound was significant, continuing the double-digit growth observed in 2022. Despite the lifting of COVID-19 quasi-emergency measures across all prefectures in…

Since 2022, chocolate confectionery in Japan has seen a steady rise in the unit price per kilogram, and this trend is anticipated to persist in 2024. Increasing prices are largely attributed to the premiumisation of confectionery, which began around…

Childrenswear did not perform well even before the pandemic, as the number of children has been continuously decreasing in Japan. Growth was then hit hard in 2020, experiencing a double-digit decline, followed by a year of little movement in 2021 as…

During 2023, cheese experienced its highest ever annual increase in the average unit price, with a double-digit growth rate. This was due to a surge in the cost of imported raw materials for cheese. Major manufacturers had to revise cheese prices…

The rise in the average unit price of cat food in Japan was notably higher in 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2024, resulting in stronger volume decline, while value sales have benefited. Some of the demand in economy dry cat food has been…

In 2023, total volume sales of carbonates are set to decrease compared with 2022. On-trade volume sales are expected to increase thanks to a continued rebound in demand after the lifting of pandemic restrictions. However, off-trade volume sales are…

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…

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, even though the costs of raw materials such as palm oil and soybean oil stabilised, the prices of butter and spreads in Japan increased due to the rising costs of packaging, labour, and transportation. This led to price revisions throughout…

Breakfast cereals in Japan is set to suffer a significant retail volume decline in 2023, due to the normalisation of sales from the strong growth seen during COVID-19 in 2020. Breakfast cereals, which had been suffering from a declining trend from…

Bottled water is set to maintain off-trade volume and current value growth in 2023. In Japan, where tap water is drinkable, the culture of purchasing bottled water for home use was for a long time uncommon. However, the Great East Japan Earthquake of…

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…

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…

Total volume sales of beer in Japan decreased slightly from 2022 to 2023. Although on-trade sales saw a double-digit increase, maintaining the post-pandemic recovery trend started in 2022, the impact of the decline in off-trade sales, as consumers…