Japan

Cities are hubs for spending, with 80% of expenditure expected to be generated by urban areas in 2023. Spending growth in 2023 will, however, be sluggish, as cost of living challenges force consumers to be more conservative in their expenditure. Over…

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…

Air treatment products saw a notable impact from COVID-19. As the pandemic spread, it was soon known to the public that the disease was spread through the air, via small particles. The term aerosol infection spread through the mass media just like…

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…

In 2023, total volume sales of alcoholic drinks in Japan saw a slight decline. However, performances differed widely across the two different channels. The on-trade channel demonstrated a second year of robust rebound as Japan began to move past the…

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…

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…

Overall apparel accessories is set to register positive current value growth in 2023, although there are expected to be different performances across categories. These movements are due to sales continuing to normalise after the disruption in 2020,…

The fading of COVID-19 has been a significant turning point for Japanese consumers, who have been leaving their homes and therefore driving the return of footfall in town centres. In May 2023, the Japanese government changed the legitimate…

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,…

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…

This briefing examines how the automotive industry is performing globally and in the largest countries in terms of automotive output. The report also provides data for production, market size, imports, exports, industry costs, industry profitability…

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…

In 2023, baby and child-specific products in Japan returned to current value growth for the first time since 2020. Baby and child-specific sun care and baby and child-specific skin care saw the strongest increases, with baby and child-specific sun…

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…

Total baby food packaging volumes declined in Japan in 2023. Although flexible plastic packaging also saw a decline, it maintained its position as the leading pack type in baby food, just ahead of folding cartons. This can be attributed to several…

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…

Baked goods in Japan is set to continue to see growth in retail current value terms in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases. Although many manufacturers had already implemented price increases several times in 2022, the costs of production…

In 2023, sales of bath and shower products in Japan remained higher than pre-pandemic (2019), thanks to the significant bump to sales seen in 2020, but the sales decline that began in 2021 continued. Liquid soap and hand sanitisers saw giant leaps in…

Beauty and personal care continued to show a current value rebound after the pandemic decline in Japan in 2023. In 2023, Japan finally relaxed various restrictions related to COVID-19. First, the status of COVID-19 as an infectious disease, which was…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The report observes the changing dynamics of loyalty in mobility, focusing specifically on the automotive, shared mobility and car rental industries. It identifies and examines the key themes shaping modern loyalty and how brands should adjust their…

Japan stands among leading economies globally, offering friendly business environment, stable and transparent judicial system, advanced mobility and logistics infrastructure, highly skilled labour and strong innovative capabilities. Financial…

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…

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…