Refined sake production volume in Japan FY 2012-2021
Trade of Japanese sake
Japan is well known for its strict regulations in the production of high-quality sake, bringing a much sought-after product to the export market. Domestically produced rice wine accounted for the third highest export volume of alcoholic beverages from Japan, outperforming other major products like whisky and wine.
The major export destinations of rice wine included the United States and large liquor markets close to the Japanese archipelago like South Korea, China or Taiwan.
Liquor market in Japan
Liquor in Japan encompasses a number of brewed, distilled and fermented alcoholic beverages. While sake has a long history within the Japanese drinking tradition, the most popular alcoholic beverage among consumers was beer. In recent years, beer emerged as a staple product in the domestic liquor production, accounting for a quarter of the alcoholic beverage output in the country.