As it does every year, the tax authorities released numbers on how much alcohol was taxed in Japan. Volume measurements are in kiloliters (1 kiloliter = 1,000 liters = 264 gallons).
This list does not include every taxable category of alcohol available in Japan.
| Category | Volume (kl) | vs 2018 |
| Shochu Otsurui (honkaku/single-distilled) | 424,820 | 96.1% |
| Shochu Korui (multiple-distilled) | 356,580 | 95.8% |
| Seishu (nihonshu/sake) | 466,938 | 94.3% |
| Gosei Seishu (synthetic sake) | 25,521 | 93.2% |
| Mirin | 100,755 | 100% |
| Beer | 2,425,585 | 96.7% |
| Whisk(e)y | 193,934 | 108.6% |
| Brandy | 4,958 | 96.8% |
| Spirits (general) | 826,981 | 114.5% |
| Liqueur | 2,495,317 | 106.9% |
Most categories of alcohol continue to experience a drop in domestic demand. This includes all forms of kokushu, Japan’s indigenous drinks including shochu, awamori, and nihonshu.
The seishu category above includes both junmai and aruten products (added alcohol), and a description of Gosei Seishu can be found on page 22 of this JETRO publication.
Meanwhile, whisk(e)y, liqueur, and spirits continue to enjoy strong growth in Japan. Umeshu sales numbers are included in the ‘liqueur’ category for taxation purposes.
Leave a Reply