Japan’s Agricultural and Food Exports Hit Record ¥1.7 Trillion in 2025, Led by Green Tea and Washoku Boom

Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, along with food items, grew to over ¥1.7 trillion ($10.9 billion) in 2025 setting a new record for the 13th consecutive year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced Tuesday. The increase was driven by the expanding global popularity of washoku, or traditional Japanese cuisine.

Amid rising global health consciousness, green tea exports surged, doubling from the previous year, while exports of 20 key items including beef and rice hit record highs. These gains contributed to an overall 12.8% year-on-year increase, according to the ministry.

Despite the strong performance, the total still fell short of the government’s ¥2 trillion export target for 2025. Officials emphasized that continued efforts to explore new overseas markets will be essential to achieve the next goal of ¥5 trillion in exports by 2030.

By destination, the United States remained Japan’s top export market at ¥276.2 billion, up 13.7% from the previous year, supported by robust demand for green tea and seafood regarded as healthy food options. This growth came despite higher tariffs introduced in April 2024. Hong Kong ranked second at ¥222.8 billion, followed by Taiwan at ¥181.2 billion. China placed fourth at ¥179.9 billion, even as it maintained restrictions on Japanese seafood amid diplomatic tensions. Notably, exports to China increased for the first time in three years, rising 7.0%, thanks to strong shipments of beer and timber.

In volume terms, rice exports grew 3.2% to 46,573 tons, while shipments of packaged precooked rice jumped 21.8% to 2,950 tons, boosted by rising consumption at Japanese chain restaurants abroad. The government plans to raise total annual rice exports including packaged rice and rice flour to 353,000 tons by 2030.

“We need to expand into local restaurants, not just those run by Japanese companies overseas,” a ministry official said, highlighting the next frontier in Japan’s food export strategy