Japan: Japan remains a nation of beer drinkers

Recent government data confirm that Japan remains a nation of beer drinkers, with beer and beer-like beverages accounting for nearly two thirds of the 9 billion liters of alcohol consumed last year, Japan Times reported April 13.

Makers of cheaper nonmalt drinks known as "third-category beers" also toasted a surge in sales. Overall wine consumption grew significantly for the first time in many years, and customs data indicate that France, Italy and the United States accounted for the lion's share of the gains. Imports from down under fell sharply however, dropping Australia two notches to sixth place in the ranking of global wine suppliers to Japan.

One advantage of alcohol's highly regulated status is that detailed government data are available -- albeit with some delay. Each spring, the National Tax Agency releases per-capita liquor consumption data for the previous fiscal year ending March 31 (better late than never, we suppose), and the Ministry of Finance's Customs Bureau announces final import numbers for the just-concluded calendar year.

Over the last fiscal year, the average adult consumed nearly 60 liters of beer and quasi-beer. While the 2006 totals were only marginally down from 2005, the aggregates masked large, tax-driven changes within the sector.

According to a report in the monthly Wands Review, which analyzes the Japanese beverage market, the Big Four -- Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, and Suntory -- reported that sales of what would traditionally have been classified as "real" beer fell by 72 million liters (beer is technically defined as having a malt content of at least 67 percent and is taxed at 77 yen/liter).

Demand for the formerly low-taxed happo-shu beer-equivalent drink (defined as having a malt content below 25 percent and now taxed at 47 yen/liter) dropped by 177 million liters following a series of tax hikes.

The real winners were the dai-san no biru, or third-category beers (zero malt, taxed at only 28 yen/liter), which saw a surge in sales of 210 million liters. The net drop among all three classes of "beer" came to only 40 million liters, a literal drop in the bucket compared to total production of 6.2 billion liters, yet it is interesting to note how price-sensitive Japanese beer drinkers have become.

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