Japanese Food Exports 2025: ¥1.7 Trillion and What It Means

Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food are compiled monthly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) from the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics. For a Japanese restaurant abroad, these numbers are a rough map of two things: which Japanese ingredients are becoming easier to buy in your market, and where demand for Japanese food is growing fastest. This page covers the 2025 annual figures and the first seven months of 2026.

1. 2025 in one line

Exports in 2025 were ¥1,700.5 billion (¥1兆7,005億), up 12.8% on 2024 (¥1,507.1 billion). It was the thirteenth record year in a row, and exports rose to every major destination.

MAFF's own explanation, based on interviews with the trade, is growing interest in Japanese food, better awareness of Japanese food thanks to inbound tourism, and rising health consciousness, which expanded volumes through existing channels and opened new ones.

2. The trend since 2012

Exports have nearly quadrupled since 2012. The government has set a target of ¥5 trillion in exports by 2030 in its Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas (Cabinet decision, 11 April 2025). The same plan sets two related 2030 targets that concern restaurants directly: ¥3 trillion in earnings from the overseas expansion of Japan's food industry, and ¥4.5 trillion in food related spending by inbound visitors.

3. Where the exports go

The United States grew by ¥33.3 billion even though, in MAFF's words, US tariff measures were introduced from April 2025; MAFF points to strong demand for green tea and beef. The US, Taiwan and South Korea each reached record highs. Exports to China rose 7.0% while, as MAFF notes, the effect of China's import restrictions on Japanese seafood persisted.

Exports and restaurants side by side

Setting the export figures next to MAFF's separate count of Japanese restaurants (2025) shows how different the markets are.

Hong Kong and Singapore buy a great deal of Japanese food relative to their number of Japanese restaurants. The export figures cover retail and every other use as well as restaurants, so the gap is not a measure of restaurant spending. China is the reverse: the largest number of Japanese restaurants, with exports per restaurant far lower. Restaurant counts by region are in Japanese restaurants abroad: the data.

4. The products a Japanese kitchen buys

From MAFF's 2025 item table, the lines most relevant to a Japanese restaurant (¥ million):

Green tea nearly doubled. MAFF attributes the ¥35.7 billion increase mainly to powdered tea, including matcha, used as an ingredient in lattes and sweets in Europe, the US and ASEAN. For sauces and seasonings, MAFF cites demand in the US and Asia for mayonnaise and a range of flavours such as sesame and shiso. Yellowtail rose mainly on shipments to the US, where demand for larger, fattier fish pushed up unit prices.

5. 2026 so far

January to July 2026 exports were ¥1,042.3 billion, up 11.0% on the same period of 2025. The US led with ¥190.7 billion (+18.1%). By item, the largest increases were green tea (+¥26.0 billion), yellowtail (+¥20.0 billion) and mackerel (+¥13.0 billion). July alone was ¥144.6 billion (+12.0%). MAFF plans to publish August figures on 2 October 2026.

6. What it means for restaurants abroad

• Supply is getting deeper. Rising exports of seasonings, sake, rice and seafood usually mean more importers and distributors handling Japanese products. That makes it easier to run a Japanese menu with Japanese ingredients, and easier for a chef from Japan to cook the way they were trained.
• New formats need new skills. The matcha boom has created demand for staff who can prepare and explain Japanese tea; see hiring matcha cafe staff. Growth in sake and whisky raises the value of beverage knowledge; see hiring a sake sommelier.
• Seafood skills matter more. Scallops and yellowtail are growth lines. A kitchen that buys Japanese fish needs someone who can judge and handle it; see hiring a sushi fish buyer.
• Demand is spreading. Double digit growth to South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and the EU suggests Japanese food demand is broadening beyond the traditional big markets. Where demand grows, competition for experienced Japanese cuisine staff tends to follow.

7. How to read the figures

• Exports, not restaurant purchases. The figures include retail, manufacturing and non-food items such as timber, pearls and ornamental carp. The total also includes ¥103.1 billion of small parcel shipments.
• Country of shipment. Hong Kong and Singapore are trading hubs, so some exports recorded there may be consumed elsewhere.
• Revisions. The 2025 figures are MAFF's revised (確々報) release based on corrected trade statistics. Figures in older articles may differ slightly.
• Category changes. From 2025, sauces and mixed seasonings include vinegar, so year on year comparisons for that line are not exact.

General information, not trade or legal advice. Figures are from MAFF's export statistics based on the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics, as published by September 2026.