Japan already has a highly developed health foods and supplements market, partly because it was years ahead of other nations in developing a system for health claims in the late 1980s. US-based analyst Paul Yamaguchi valued the Japanese nutrition market at around US$27 billion.
According to the report Country Industry Forecast – Social Infrastructure & Labour Analysis for the Japanese Chemicals Materials and Foods Industry, the ageing demographic trend is expected to create demand for quality of life enhancing products, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics – especially as lifestyles are becoming more urbanised.
Moreover, health awareness goes hand in hand with a desire to retain youthful beauty for as long as possible, and health foods (including those specifically aimed at beauty and physical anti-ageing) are regarded as playing a part in this.
Changing lifestyle are also said to be piquing demand for convenience foods.
But it seems that interest in health and beauty on Japanese home soil is only part of the picture. Frost & Sullivan says that, overall, the Japanese food industry is being driven by strong external demand, especially as it is situated close to high-growth markets like China and India.
"Integration with the global market is likely to hike import competition," said the consultancy.
Japan's economy has been enjoying a revival of late. Last week the central bank announced its decision to raise interest rates – a clear indication of an upswing.
A wave of optimism about Japan's economy sent Tokyo's Nikkei 2225 stock index to its first close above 18,000 in seven years on Thursday. Stock indexes in South Korea and Australia also reached record highs.
The catalyst was the decision a day earlier by Japan's central bank to raise interest rates, signaling its confidence that the nation's long-suffering economy is more securely on an upswing.
Yesterday the Finance Ministry announced that Japan posted a Y4.4 bn (c US$36.4 m, €27.8m) trade surplus with the rest of the world in January. A year ago it had a massive deficit, but this was on increased automobile and electronic component exports.
