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Selling soft drinks and beverages in Japan

In Japan, soft drinks are food under the Food Sanitation Act and the Food Labelling Act. A drink of 1% alcohol or more is liquor under the Liquor Tax Act. Soft drink production needs a prefectural licence, imports are notified to an MHLW quarantine station, and businesses that use containers such as bottles carry recycling obligations.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Legal status
Food, under the Food Sanitation Act
The liquor line
1% alcohol or more is liquor under the Liquor Tax Act
Production
Soft drink production business licensed by the prefecture
Import
Notification to an MHLW quarantine station for each import
Label language
Japanese
Packaging
Containers and Packaging Recycling Act

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is it a soft drink, or liquor at 1% alcohol or more? Read more
  2. 2Does it meet Japan's standards, and are its additives permitted? Read more
  3. 3Is the plant that makes it licensed for soft drink production? Read more
  4. 4What must the Japanese label show? Read more
  5. 5Does it make a nutrition or function claim? Read more
  6. 6Who files the import notification, and who carries the recycling obligation? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Soft drink or liquor

Where a drink sits in Japanese law.

  • Food under the Food Sanitation Act means all foods and drinks, excluding pharmaceuticals and quasi-pharmaceutical products (Article 4).
  • Under the Liquor Tax Act (酒税法), liquor means a drink of 1% alcohol or more, including drinks that can be diluted, and powders that can be dissolved, to 1% or more, the National Tax Agency explains.
  • Liquor has its own licences, tax and labelling; see the alcohol guide.

How we help: Compliant Always records the alcohol content from your specification and lab report against the 1% line, so the drink is filed under the right rules. Ask about this

Standards, additives and production

What a drink has to meet, and who may make it.

  • Food that does not meet the standards set under Article 13 of the Food Sanitation Act must not be produced, imported or sold.
  • Only designated additives, existing food additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives may be used, within their use standards.
  • Soft drink production, meaning soft drinks and milk-free dairy beverages, is a business that needs a licence from the prefectural governor (Order for Enforcement, Article 35; Act, Article 55).
  • Licensed and notified businesses follow hygiene criteria that include controlling the processes particularly important for preventing food sanitation hazards (Article 51).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your formulation and lab reports against the standards and additive lists that apply, and keeps the producer's licence with the product. Ask about this

Labelling

What the label shows, and in which language.

  • Drinks are labelled under the Food Labelling Standards with the name, ingredients, additives, allergens, storage method, expiry date, nutrition and the responsible business (Food Labelling Act, Article 4).
  • Labelling must be in Japanese when food is sold in Japan, the CAA states.
  • The nutrition label lists energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salt equivalent; it is sometimes omitted for food that makes little contribution as a nutritional source, such as water.
  • Imported processed foods show the country of origin.

How we help: Compliant Always sets the Japanese label beside the particulars the Food Labelling Standards ask for, with the source for each. Ask about this

Nutrition and health claims

What a drink may say about sugar, energy or health.

  • Claims such as 'zero', 'low' or 'reduced' energy, sugars or sodium must meet criteria set in the Food Labelling Standards.
  • 'No added sugar' may be claimed only where no sugars or sugar substitutes are added, the sugar content does not exceed that of the ingredients, and sugar content is declared.
  • A drink may state a health function only as a Food for Specified Health Uses, a Food with Nutrient Function Claims, or a Food with Function Claims notified to the CAA.

How we help: Compliant Always checks each claim on the pack against its criterion and keeps the nutrient data behind it with the product. Ask about this

Import and packaging

How drinks come into Japan, and what follows the bottle or can.

  • Each import of food, and of containers and packaging, for sale is notified to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare at the quarantine station for the port (Article 27).
  • Business operators that use specified containers for goods they sell must recycle an obligatory amount of the waste containers each fiscal year (Containers and Packaging Recycling Act, Article 11).
  • A business may meet that obligation by contracting with a designated organisation for recycling (Article 14).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the documents an import notification draws on, and your packaging specifications, with each product. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ImporterThe import notification for each shipment, and drinks that meet Japan's standards.Suppliers' specifications and certificates read and dated before the goods ship.
ProducerA soft drink production licence, hygiene control and the formulation.Licences and lab reports kept with the products made at each plant.
Brand or sellerThe Japanese label and the claims it makes.Label and claims checked against the criteria, with the evidence beside them.
Container userThe recycling obligation for the containers used.Packaging specifications kept with each product.

National law, prefectural enforcement

Product law in Japan is national. Ministries and the Consumer Affairs Agency set the standards; prefectural governors and cities with public health centres license food businesses, receive food recall notifications and carry out inspections.

Imports are checked at the border: food and food contact articles at MHLW quarantine stations, and liquor licences are granted by the tax office for each place of sale.

Questions businesses ask

When is a drink treated as alcohol in Japan?
At 1% alcohol or more. The Liquor Tax Act defines liquor as a drink of 1% alcohol or more, including drinks or powders that can be made into one, the National Tax Agency explains.
Do I need a licence to make soft drinks in Japan?
Yes. Soft drink production is a business listed by Cabinet Order that needs a licence from the prefectural governor under Article 55 of the Food Sanitation Act.
Do imported drinks need an import notification?
Yes. Each import of food for sale is notified to an MHLW quarantine station under Article 27 of the Food Sanitation Act.
Must a drink label be in Japanese?
Yes. The CAA states that food labelling must be in Japanese when food is sold in Japan.
Does bottled water need a nutrition label in Japan?
The nutrition label is sometimes omitted for food that makes little contribution as a nutritional source, such as water or seasonings, according to the CAA.
Can a drink say 'zero sugar' or 'no added sugar'?
Only if it meets the criteria in the Food Labelling Standards. 'No added sugar' also requires that no sugar substitutes are used and that sugar content is declared.
Can an energy drink make a health claim?
Only as a Food for Specified Health Uses, a Food with Nutrient Function Claims or a Food with Function Claims. Other foods may not show effects or functions.
Who is responsible for recycling drink containers in Japan?
Business operators that use specified containers for the goods they sell must recycle an obligatory amount each fiscal year, or contract a designated organisation to do so.
Which additives can go into a soft drink?
Designated additives, existing food additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives, each within any use standards set for it.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Japan?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the Japanese-language sources. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Japan and what your paperwork needs to show.

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