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In fiscal year 2023, the market size of drinking milk in Japan was valued at over *** billion Japanese yen. Drinking milk refers to liquid products for direct consumption in Japan. It includes fresh milk and a range of processed drinks using milk as a base ingredient.

Milk is not always milk

The dairy market in Japan is regulated under the Ministerial Ordinance on Milk and Milk Products Concerning Compositional Standards, etc. While sheep’s and goat’s milk are also allowed to be labeled as “milk” in Japan, they play only a minor role within the domestic market. Instead, cow’s milk is processed and distributed in different variants.
Fresh whole milk that did not undergo further processing after heat treatment represents the most common form of milk for direct consumption in Japan. Processed products include nutrient-fortified and composition-modified beverages, such as fat-reduced milk and milk mixed with cream or butter. Additionally, other processed milk drinks include flavored and artificially sweetened beverages, such as coffee milk and strawberry milk, commercially known as ichigo o-re.

Milk production in Japan

Commercial dairy farming in Japan is a heavily protected industry confronted with the challenge of low profit margins and high production costs. Even though it is protected against foreign milk suppliers through tariff quotas, the low self-sufficiency of animal feed makes domestic farmers dependent on imports to keep their dairy cattle well-fed. As price fluctuations in the international grain market, diminishing profits, and the greying society are weighing on dairy farming businesses, government measures were implemented to ensure a stable supply of raw milk. But domestic production of raw milk has been showing a continuous downward trend in the last decade as farmers are struggling to find a successor to take over the business.