Liquor

Europe is the leading exporter of liquor and wine worldwide and the Japanese alcoholic beverages market is one of the largest in the world, behind only China and the US, with estimated annual sales surpassing 3 trillion yen.  Foreign liquor imports in 2022, at 364 billion yen (according to Japan Customs), accounted for a mere 9% of the total Japanese liquor market, including beer and beer-like products.

European exports whiskies and liqueurs are the two biggest categories by far, with a value of 8.68 billion yen and 7.75 billion yen respectively in 2022, followed by wine-based spirits such as Cognac and brandies (2.61 billion yen in 2022) and spirituous beverages (1.99 billion yen in 2022). Traditional local categories such as sake, shochu, beer, umeshu (plum liqueurs) and local brandy will continue to decline, as the consumer base is shrinking and younger demographics find other, trendier categories more appealing, such as wines and champagnes. In 2022, imports of wines came in at 148 billion yen and 96 billion yen for sparkling wines, including champagnes. Together, they took up about 67% of total imports of alcoholic beverages.

Key issues and recommendations

Chairman

Mr. Bruno Yvon
President, MHD Moët Hennessy Diageo K.K.
Jinbocho Mitsui Bldg. 13F
1-105 Jinbocho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0051
Tel: +81-3-5217-9723
Fax: +81-3-5217-9751

Members

Upcoming committee meeting schedule

Please contact the EBC ([email protected]) to confirm the meeting location prior to attending

DATETIMELOCATION
2025
March 5 (Wednesday)08:30~hybrid
June 11 (Wednesday)08:30~hybrid
September 3 (Wednesday)08:30~hybrid
December 3 (Wednesday)08:30~hybrid