Japan

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…

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…

Although in 2021 and 2022 depilatories in Japan showed a minor rebound from the pandemic-induced current value decline in 2020, sales did not go back to the 2019 (pre-pandemic) level, and a return to decline was seen in 2023. Depilatories has been…

Although sales of deodorants did not return to the pre-pandemic (2019) level in Japan in 2023, the category saw strong current value growth. The main reasons were that the opportunities for going out increased, the end of mask-wearing increased…

In the past, debit cards were not prevalent in Japan, with alternative payment methods such as credit cards or cash dominating the market. Furthermore, Japanese banks typically issued “cash cards” to their customers, which were primarily intended for…

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…

Total dairy packaging retail volumes declined in Japan in 2023. PET bottles remained the most significant pack type in dairy packaging in Japan in 2023, and despite the decline in overall dairy packaging volumes in 2023, PET bottles saw increasing…

Credit card is the leading cashless payment method in Japan, and is still responsible for the predominant share of cashless payment transaction volumes and value. Other digital payment instruments are also gaining popularity, but credit cards remain…

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…

In May 2023, COVID-19 was reclassified as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same level as influenza. Therefore, the restrictions on group activities that had been in place for a long time, since the first emergence of the pandemic in…

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,…

Contact lenses in Japan is set to continue to see volume and current value growth in 2024. One factor driving growth has been children. More and more children are suffering from myopia. While spectacles is still the main treatment method for children…

Consumer lending in Japan is growing in 2023 in line with demand for greater convenience and easy access to lending services, mainly due to more services being accessed online. New emerging players, such as LINE Pocket Money by LINE Credit…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Japan currently does not have any law restrictions surrounding Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and thus the benefits, such as convenience, flexibility, and especially no credit checks, are gradually being understood by a wider consumer base. These benefits…

COVID-19 directly impacted retail volume sales of consumer appliances in 2020 and 2021, but in 2022 and 2023 its impact faded. However, a larger impact in 2022 and 2023 has been from inflation, which derived in large part from the war in Ukraine,…

Total confectionery packaging volumes in Japan saw a decline in 2023. Although turning to decline in 2023, flexible plastic continued to account for the highest packaging volumes in confectionery in 2023. This is primarily driven by its versatility,…