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Directory / Japan

Distilleries and liquor manufacturers in Japan

574 producers listed, including 1 bulk or neutral spirit.

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Japan at a glance

Population
123.3 million (2025)
GDP
US$4.45 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$36,119 (2025)
Capital
Tokyo
Currency
Japanese yen (JPY)
Languages
Japanese
Climate
Mostly temperate but varying widely north to south: Hokkaido is humid continental with long cold winters and heavy snow, the Sea of Japan coast of Honshu gets heavy winter snowfall and can be very hot in summer, and the south is much warmer. A rainy season and typhoons affect the summer and early autumn, which matters for warehouse humidity and shipping schedules.
Alcohol status
legal
Legal drinking age
20 (the age of majority fell to 18 in April 2022 but the drinking age stayed at 20)
Alcohol per adult
6.3 litres of pure alcohol a year (2024, WHO)
Spirits imports
US$791.2 million (2024); mainly from United Kingdom, USA, France, Mexico
Spirits exports
US$436.3 million (2024); mainly to USA, China, Netherlands, Singapore
Import duty on spirits
Standard (MFN) rate 2023: whisky 0.0%; vodka 0.0%; rum 0.0%; gin 0.0%
Popular brands
Suntory Whisky (Kakubin, Yamazaki, Hakushu) (Suntory Global Spirits), Nikka (Nikka Whisky Distilling), Iichiko (Sanwa Shurui), Suntory Lemon Sour / Horoyoi / -196 (Suntory Global Spirits)
Major producers
Suntory, Nikka Whisky Distilling, Kirin Holdings
State monopoly
none; the National Tax Agency licenses producers, wholesalers and retailers under the Liquor Tax Act
The market
Japan's domestic alcohol market is shrinking: the National Tax Agency reports that per-adult consumption has fallen, FY2023 sales volume was about 9% below ten years earlier, and low-alcohol drinks (beer-type drinks and chu-hi/liqueur-based cans) make up about two thirds of liquor tax revenue. Liquor tax still raised about JPY 1.2 trillion in FY2023. Exports of Japanese alcohol hit a record JPY 139.2 billion in 2022 and were JPY 133.7 billion in 2024, with whisky (JPY 43.6 billion, down 12.8%) and sake (JPY 43.5 billion) the two largest lines and the United States, China and South Korea the top destinations. Japan also imports large volumes of spirits (see trade figures).
Making spirits
Liquor production requires a licence from the National Tax Agency (NTA) district office; the NTA is both tax collector and industry regulator. Sake and shochu are made from rice, barley and sweet potato; whisky is produced by large groups and a growing number of craft distilleries.
Importing
Most spirits enter Japan duty free under the customs tariff (whisky, brandy and many others are listed "Free"), but liquor tax is levied on removal from bonded areas, and importers need a liquor import licence from the NTA. Some lines (rum, gin, vodka, liqueurs, ethyl alcohol) carry a WTO-bound rate in the tariff.
Advertising
WHO country profile (2018 edition, data c.2016): legally binding national rules - advertising: no; product placement: no; sponsorship: no; sales promotion: no; health-warning requirement - on adverts: yes; on containers: yes. Status may have changed since; check current national advertising code.
Sale restrictions
WHO country profile (2018 edition, data c.2016): national limits on sale - on-premise: hours/days no, places/density no; off-premise: hours/days no, places/density no; restrictions - specific events: no; intoxicated persons: no; petrol stations: no; minimum age for spirits - on-premise 20, off-premise 20. Online sales not covered by the profile; check current local licensing rules.

Regulators: National Tax Agency (liquor licensing and liquor tax), Japan Customs

Trade bodies and fairs: Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association, FOODEX Japan, JFEX Wine & Spirits Expo, ProWine Tokyo

Compiled by Distillers Hub in October 2026 from the World Bank, WHO, UN Comtrade, the WITS tariff database and the sources below. Figures change: check with the regulator or a customs broker before you act.

Sources (22)

About Japan

Japan is an island nation located in East Asia. Japanese is the primary language spoken across the country. Its advanced economy is globally recognized for manufacturing, automotive production, and consumer technology.

The spirits market

Alcohol sales are legal nationwide without dry areas for adults aged 20 and older. Commercial importation requires an Imported Liquor Wholesale License and food sanitation registration, feeding a private retail market with no state monopoly. Most distilled spirits enter duty-free, subject to specific liquor taxes like JPY 370,000/kL at 37% ABV and 10% consumption tax. Alongside local production of shochu, whisky, gin, and awamori, foreign craft brands benefit from accessible direct-to-consumer mail-order licensing.

Licences, import duty and labelling rules in Japan

Spirits importers and distributors in Japan

Duty-free and travel-retail shops in Japan

Who makes liquor in Japan? This list covers 574 liquor manufacturers and distilleries — Gainax, Yakushima Denshōkura Hombō Shuzo (Shochu brewery), Himebayashi Co., Ltd. (株式会社媛囃子), Matsui Shuzo Goushi Kaisha / Kurayoshi Distillery (松井酒造合名会社 倉吉蒸溜所) and more: whisky, rum, gin, vodka, brandy, neutral spirit (ENA) and local spirits producers, with their towns, products and websites. See also how to import or export liquor to Japan and the licences needed to make it there.

Listings are compiled from public sources. Companies marked Verified have confirmed their details. If this is your company, claim the profile free to correct it, or ask us to remove it. Not listed? Add your company free.

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