Japan Sake Exports Boom Thanks to New Overseas Fans

Japanese sake
People in Japan are drinking less sake than ever, a trend that hasn't stopped since the 1990s. So why is it becoming so popular abroad? Learn what's driving Japan's rising sake exports - and how the drink may soon officially become part of the country's intangible cultural heritage.

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For years, the Japanese sake (日本酒; nihonshu, rice wine) market has fought to stay alive. Declining sales left sake breweries scrambling to find new selling strategies.

Now, however, sake appears to be enjoying a renaissance thanks to its popularity outside of Japan. Here’s why sake is more popular than ever among tourists and overseas buyers – and why the boom is leading Japan to request the world recognize nihonshu as part of its cultural heritage.

Sake’s declining popularity in Japan

Japanese sake (nihonshu)
Picture: sarakazu / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

Rice wine has a long and venerable history in Japan. Early versions of the drink date back to the country’s Yayoi period (10BCE-3BCE). The first-recorded mention of modern sake dates to around 500CE. Japan’s oldest sake brewery, Sudouhon, has been operating since 1186.

However, it’s been rough times for sake brewers in Japan for the past 40 years or so. Back in the 1960s, an estimated 91% of adults drank sake. Consumption peaked in 1990 thanks to Japan’s booming economy.

But then the bubble burst. As Japan’s economy declined, so did the taste for sake. As of 2020, only 65% of adults drank nihonshu. Among people who drink, whisky and wine are enjoying booming popularity.

However, another cause of the decline is that people just aren’t drinking. Japan’s young are drinking less than they used to. (And when they do drink, it tends not to be sake.) Surveys by Japan’s government also show that many people are trying to drink less to improve their health. Brewers have increased their non-alcoholic options in recent years to cater to this growing market.

As a result, sake brewers have been hard-hit. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of breweries declined from 1,977 to 1,405. That means an average of 2.9 brewers closed every month during a 16-year period.

Graph showing decline in sake breweries
Source: Cabinet Office of Japan

Why sake is booming abroad

Foreign woman being served sake at a bar in Japan
Picture: kotoru / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

It isn’t all doom and gloom, however.

Japanese alcohol has grown in popularity abroad. Japanese whisky has been so popular for the past decade that manufacturers like Suntory have struggled with shortages that have caused the price of their premium offerings to skyrocket.

Sake is enjoying a similar boom – both among tourists to Japan as well as abroad. In fact, as consumption of sake locally has plummeted from 550,000 liters/year in 2014 to around 400,000 in 2022, consumption abroad skyrocketed. Sales of sake in world markets went from 10 million yen (USD $64.6M) in 2014 to 40 billion yen (USD $258.6M) last year.

Who’s drinking sake? Most of the consumption is in China, followed next by America and then Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore. Most of these countries set records for imports of Japanese sake last year. The upper class of Asian countries has particularly taken to drinking high-end sakes.

Part of what’s driving the boom is a growing awareness of sake driven by the spike in Japanese restaurants abroad. The number of Japanese restaurants outside of Japan grew from around 55,00 in 2013 to 118,000 in 2017.

This growing reputation is reflected in surveys of tourists as well. Sake comes in second only to Japanese beer as the most requested drink among foreign tourists, according to one survey. Another survey found that 80% of foreign tourists had tried sake while in Japan, which piqued their interest in and appreciation for the beverage.

Making alcohol part of Japan’s intangible cultural heritage

Japan’s government is seeking to capitalize on this new booming popularity. This week, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that UNESCO plans to designate a number of Japanese alcoholic drinks – including sake, shochu (a distilled spirit), and awamori (a distilled drink native to Okinawa) – as part of Japan’s intangible cultural heritage. The Agency expects the body will formally grant the designation next month at its meeting in Paraguay.

Japan selected its traditional alcoholic drinks as part of its intangible cultural heritage back in 2021. in 2022, it made a request to UNESCO to receive a formal designation.

Most local brewers seem thrilled about the news. They’re hoping that the announcement helps lead to a boom in sake drinking locally, reversing a decades-long decline. Here’s hoping for the breweries – some of which have handed down their practices for hundreds of years – that this wish becomes reality.

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Sources

「和食」に続け……伝統的酒造りが“無形文化遺産”へ 円安も追い風、どんな効果が? 「日本酒」輸出額は10年で4倍に. NTV

「SAKE」世界が評価、輸出3年で1.7倍 無形文化遺産へ. Nikkei

なぜ日本酒は海外で好まれるようになったのか?輸出増加の背景や、輸出の際の注意点について解説. FBGM

健康志向、人口減…日本の酒消費量は将来も減少?経済学の視点で専門家が分析. Asahi Globe

酒蔵数の減少. Cabinet Office of Japan

外国人が日本で飲みたいお酒!カクヤススタッフに聞いた「実際に人気のお酒」も紹介. Nandemo Sake

酒蔵・酒造ツアーは外国人観光客に人気?日本酒を使ったインバウンド対策とは. WorldMenu

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