Japan Drinks Fewer Imported Whiskies, and Pays More for Them
Japan's imported whisky volumes fell in 2025, even as the category kept its place as the biggest part of the country's spirits imports. The figures come from Japanese customs data compiled by ProWine Tokyo for its market briefing ahead of ProWine Tokyo 2027, and they were reported by The Spirits Business on October 23, 2026. Whisky imports were worth ¥70.2 billion (US$444 million), 61.8% of the value of imported spirits and 49.7% of volume. Rising unit prices offset the decline in litres.
The same report found tequila imports more than doubling since 2021 and brandy punching well above its weight in value. Taken together, the numbers describe a market that is buying less but buying better.
The Big Picture for Imported Spirits
In 2025 Japan imported about 480 million litres of alcoholic beverages worth ¥390.2 billion (US$2.49 billion). Fermented drinks, including wine, made up 70.8% of volume. Distilled spirits accounted for 26.5% of volume: about 127 million litres worth ¥113.6 billion (US$725 million). Across the main spirits categories, rising unit prices offset declining volumes, which is the pattern the report describes as premiumisation: consumers preferring quality over quantity.
Whisky: Down in Volume, Up in Price
Whisky's share of import value is much larger than its share of volume, which says something about price per bottle. The unit price of imported whisky is up 7% since 2017. The report adds important context from the domestic side. According to Japan's National Tax Agency, domestic whisky consumption reached about 205 million litres in fiscal 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025), the highest since the early 1990s. Imports were about 16.8% of total whisky and brandy consumption.
In other words, Japan's overall appetite for whisky has not shrunk: domestic consumption is at its highest in more than three decades, while imports are a minority of what is drunk. Imported brands are competing for a smaller slice of a large market.
Why Premium Matters to Importers
For an importer, a flat or falling volume is a problem only if the price per bottle does not rise. In this case it did. The report's message to the trade is that brands should prioritize premium positioning, product provenance and consumer education, and that "Japan rewards quality over volume." That advice is aimed at producers who might otherwise try to compete on price in a market where tariffs, taxes and logistics already raise costs.
Tequila's Surge
Tequila is the clearest growth story in the data. Imports more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, reaching 3,843 kilolitres in 2025. In the first half of 2026 alone, imports were 2,943 kilolitres, about three-quarters of the 2025 total, and the report expects continued growth. A kilolitre is 1,000 litres, so the 2025 figure is roughly 3.8 million litres, still a small share of total spirits imports of 127 million litres but growing fast from a low base.
The figures show tequila gaining as whisky slips, but they do not show the two categories trading places. Whisky remains by far the largest import. Tequila's rise is a sign of broader curiosity among Japanese drinkers about agave spirits, and of the premium end of the category.
Brandy: A Small Category With High Value
Brandy made up just 1.4% of spirits import volume but 5.6% of the value, which the article calls the clearest premium opportunity. Fruit brandy volumes rebounded by about a third in 2025. A category that earns four times its volume share in value is a category of expensive bottles.
The Rest of the Shelf
Other categories moved in different directions:
Liqueurs and Cordials
These accounted for 13.1% of volume and 11% of value. Volumes fell from nearly 30 million litres in 2017, while the average unit price rose 1.6 times.
Gin and Vodka
Gin imports fell to 2.5 million litres, while Japanese gin exports roughly quadrupled over five years. Vodka imports fell to 1.8 million litres, while domestic vodka shipments grew by double digits for four straight years, reaching a post-1998 high in 2025. Both show a similar pattern to whisky, with imports falling while local production grows.
Rum
A separate report, The Japan Rum Market Outlook, 2031, forecasts a compound annual growth rate above 7% for 2026 to 2031. Other spirits made up 30.7% of volume and 16.7% of value in the import data.
The article notes that average import prices for liqueurs, gin, rum, vodka and brandy rose between 31% and 55% from 2017 to 2025, though it does not clarify what that percentage measures.
How Japan Became a Whisky Market Again
The 205 million litres of domestic consumption is the latest chapter in a long recovery. According to The Spirits Business, the National Tax Agency put the domestic whisky market at 17.8 million cases in 2021, more than double its 2008 low. The previous peak was in 1983, when 42.3 million cases were consumed in Japan. The revival is widely tied to the highball: after a long slump, the domestic market was reignited by Suntory's highball campaign in 2008, which repositioned whisky as a casual drink with soda and ice, suited to food.
Suntory and Price Rises
Producers have responded to demand by raising prices. Suntory increased the prices of its domestic premium whisky products starting with shipments from April 1, 2024, saying the reason was to improve product quality and upgrade its production facilities. In October 2024 it announced a canned premium highball built on its Yamazaki single malt, enhanced with Spanish oak flavors, which shows how the highball format has moved up-market. One source says the growing trend of whisky highballs has boosted demand for premium products, especially in restaurants and bars, while another notes that overproduction has caused prices to fall in the wider market, so the picture is mixed.
Reading the Data With Care
The figures in the ProWine Tokyo briefing come from Japanese customs data, and ProWine Tokyo is a trade show organizer with an interest in promoting its event. The briefing is a guide to market direction, not a full audit. Some of the percentage figures in the article are not fully explained, such as the 31% to 55% rise in average import prices, which the article does not define. Market-size figures from research firms vary widely, with one source giving the 2024 value of the Japanese whiskey market as USD 4.3 billion and another as USD 923 million, so readers should be cautious about any single number. The customs and National Tax Agency figures cited by The Spirits Business are the more reliable basis.
What It Means for Whisky Producers
For Scotch, American and other whisky exporters, the Japan numbers are a mixed message. The market is large and rich, and unit prices are rising, but volumes are falling, and domestic producers are growing. Brands that depend on volume will find it hard going, while premium and craft brands with a clear story are better placed. The report's recommended playbook is to emphasize provenance, premium positioning and education, so that drinkers understand why a bottle costs more.
It also underlines the importance of Japan to global whisky trade. A country that consumes 205 million litres of whisky a year is a major customer even when imports are a minority share. Whiskeypulse has covered several related Japan stories this month, including a duty-free surge in Japanese whisky and the Suntory bid for Allied Blenders in India, which cover other parts of the Japanese and Asian whisky market.
What to Watch
The next data points will be the 2026 customs figures, which will show whether tequila's first-half pace holds and whether whisky imports stabilize. Producers will also be watching how premiumisation interacts with price sensitivity, since a market that rewards quality can still turn against rising prices. For readers, the practical takeaway is simple: shoppers in Japan are choosing fewer, better bottles, and the global industry is adjusting to that.
