Japanese tea industry news in English
Japanese Tea GI Committee launches sustainability push
The Japanese Tea GI Promotion Committee was established on August 27 to unite producers, distributors, exporters, regional bodies, and tea companies behind sustainable production and domestic demand recovery. Domestic leaf tea demand is weak while matcha exports surge overseas, driving conversion from sencha to tencha production; this has raised sencha prices and opened the market to cheaper imported green tea. The committee will deploy the Japanese Tea GI mark to expand cons…
Kyushu (other) · National · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Shizuoka · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Shizuoka · Market & Trade · Growing & Harvest
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Kagoshima · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Kagoshima · Policy
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kagoshima · Shizuoka · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kagoshima · National · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Kyoto & Uji · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Industry · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Market & Trade · Policy
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Japan tea awarded GI status; ambassador named
Japan's tea sector established the Japan Tea GI Promotion Committee following the Ministry of Agriculture's July 2024 geographic indication registration for Japanese tea. The initiative aims to raise the value and global recognition of Japanese tea through cross-industry coordination. Actress Kasumi Arimura was appointed as the Japan Tea GI Support Ambassador to communicate tea's appeal to broad audiences; regional ambassadors representing Kagoshima and Shizuoka also particip…
National · Overseas · Policy
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Kagoshima · Policy
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kyoto & Uji · National · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
National · Kyoto & Uji · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Shizuoka · Market & Trade · Matcha
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kyoto & Uji · Market & Trade · Matcha
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kagoshima · Shizuoka · Market & Trade
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Kagoshima · Market & Trade · Matcha
$75/mo · cancel anytime
Green tea exports double to 721 billion yen in 2025
Japan's green tea exports hit a record 721 billion yen in 2025, double the previous year's total, as global matcha demand squeezes supply.
National · Market & Trade · Matcha
$75/mo · cancel anytime
44th Kyoto Tea Competition Results (2026): Uji Sweeps Tencha
Matcha Industry Report is Ooika's monthly coverage of the Japanese tea industry, specifically Matcha. Join our newsletter here to keep up to date. Every summer, Kyoto's tea farmers put their best first harvest tea in front of a panel of jud…
Kagoshima Builds Matcha Plants, Seeks Brand Parity with Shizuoka
Kagoshima is expanding matcha processing capacity with two major facilities—one by JA Kagoshima producing 300 tonnes annually and another by Oohashi Seicha (100 tonnes) opening in March 2028—to capture value currently lost to out-of-prefecture outsourcing. Though Kagoshima ranks first nationally in raw-tea production, its finished-tea exports (129.5 billion yen in 2024) trail Shizuoka by nine-tenths. Matcha demand has surged globally, but local processing plants cannot keep p…
