Japan Finance Ministry upgrades economic assessment for Okinawa
The ministry's local bureau chiefs held a quarterly meeting on Tuesday, and said Okinawa is seeing a sharp rise in inbound visitor numbers, due in part to more flights. They said hotels and other tourism businesses are thriving, and retail sales are up.
The officials said the opening last week of the Junglia Okinawa amusement park has helped to fill hotel rooms.
But elsewhere the picture is less rosy. The ministry kept its assessment unchanged for all 10 other regions, and says the Japanese economy overall is picking up moderately, a phrase unchanged for two years.
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Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
With a new distillery, Suntory makes a spirited move on gin market
Ever since gin distillery tours went vogue with the rise of gin and cocktail culture at the turn of the 21st century, the game of sniffing and identifying elements in little containers — in this case, gin botanicals — has become de rigueur for visitors. At Suntory Spirits' newly constructed Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery, located within the existing Suntory Osaka Plant, this olfactory exercise is no exception. But the smells don't just come from the usual potpourri of juniper berries and citrus peels — there are also cherry blossom leaves, sencha (steamed green tea), gyokuro (high-quality, shade-grown green tea) and sanshō pepper, all of which help create the taste profile of Roku, Suntory's craft gin. First launched in Japan in 2017, Roku is now sold in approximately 60 countries and remains one of Suntory's most popular products with almost 90% of its sales coming from outside of Japan. It's almost impossible to walk into any top bar in London, Singapore and Hong Kong today and not spot the bottle, with its white label and eponymous kanji character for 'six,' sitting behind the counter. Since its launch in 2017, Roku gin has become a popular spirit in many of the world's top bars. | SUNTORY 'In the six years since it was launched, Roku has become the second most popular premium gin in the world, hitting sales of nearly 400,000 cases,' says Tetsuji Yano, senior general manager of Suntory Osaka Plant. 'In the long term, we aim for (Roku) to become the number one premium gin in the world.' The Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery will focus largely on gin — and for good reason: According to a press statement from Suntory, Japan's gin market was estimated to be worth ¥25 billion as of 2024. The new distillery is part of Suntory's aim to capture the growing demand for gin, develop its Roku range and help drive Japan's total gin market to ¥45 billion by 2030. Suntory has spared no expense. Out of the ¥6.5 billion invested in increasing the production capacity at the Osaka plant, ¥1 billion was poured into the visitor experience at the Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery. The Japan Times was invited to a press preview of the new distillery, which began operations in June but will open to the public in spring 2026. The distillery's four distillation pot stills, which help increase the plant's total production capacity by 2.6 times, are the new toys. A viewing deck, perched four stories high, allows visitors to overlook the stills that include a vacuum distillation pot for extracting the delicate aromas of cherry blossom leaves and a rectification pot for extracting fruit peels and purifying alcohol via repeated distillation. Each of the new distillery's pot stills is designed to accommodate the different extraction requirements of each botanical used for Roku gin. | SUNTORY However, gin geeks looking to go on a guided tour closer to those massive contraptions humming below may be disappointed: Suntory currently has no plans to introduce such an option. For now, it is the seminar and tasting room — a theater-like space consisting of two horseshoe-shaped tables that evoke a United Nations meeting — that will leave an impression. Seemingly taking a page out of teamLab's playbook, the venue features 360-degree-wide, thematic light projections, such as yuzu orchards or cherry blossoms to highlight the botanicals used in Roku. Here, you can sip your gin while immersed in a luminous, virtual world of nature. The tasting room will also showcase Roku's limited-edition seasonal releases, a line-up Suntory plans to grow. In May, it launched Noryo Tea Edition, a gin made with sencha and gyokuro tea leaves as key botanicals. Sold exclusively in Japan, Noryo took about two years to develop: The gin offers gentle umami notes and a soothing, herbaceous finish. As a gin and soda mix, it makes a refreshing libation for summer. Drink in the scenery: The seminar and tasting room features immersive light projections with visuals that showcase Roku gin's botanicals, such as cherry blossoms. | SUNTORY Suntory, however, is unable to disclose information about new Roku variants that will be launched for the distillery's opening to the public next year. It also did not elaborate on whether it plans to make any new whisky products — another growing segment — at the distillery: A spokesperson said they are blending and bottling some of their current whiskies at the plant, such as Kakubin. At present, from a visitor's perspective, the Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery feels like a work in progress. Beyond sniffing games and the obligatory video presentation and guided tasting session, Suntory can afford to add a little more interactiveness and personalization to the visitor experience. The good news is Suntory still has till next spring to explore new ideas. Perhaps it can take a leaf out of some creative visitor programs in London's gin distilleries, such as Portobello Road Distillery, where, under guidance from an instructor, you get to create your own blend of gin and have it bottled and labeled right there and then as a souvenir. Throwing in a food and gin pairing session wouldn't hurt, too.
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump Executive Order Sets No Date to Cut Auto Tariff;U.S., Japan Begin to Diverge on What Agreement Means
Uncertainty has yet to be dispelled over details of an agreed-upon automobile tariff to be imposed on Japan by the United States. An executive order issued Thursday by the White House to impose a 15% tariff on Japan will place a heavy burden on Japanese companies. But the order did not specify an actual date for when the duty on automobiles will be reduced from the current 27.5% to 15%. The Japanese government has boasted of that reduction as the key result of its recent tariff negotiations with the United States. 'It is so disappointing, as we were hoping that [the auto tariff] would be reduced at the same time as the reduction of the 'reciprocal tariff,'' an executive of a leading automaker said after learning that the executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump made no mention of an automobile tariff. Since April, a 27.5% tariff has been levied on automobiles. The recent Japan-U.S. agreement is supposed to reduce the tariff to 15%, but when it will be implemented is uncertain. The car tariff squeezes manufacturers' bottom lines. 'It is becoming a burden day by day,' said a senior automaker official. 'We hope the updated tariff rate will be applied as soon as possible.' Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa said Friday, 'We will urge [the United States] to take steps to fulfill the agreement as soon as possible.' However, the reciprocal tariff and the car tariff are based on different laws. The United Kingdom waited more than a month to see a lower tariff levied on its cars after reaching an agreement with the United States. Many products affected Meanwhile, the reciprocal tariff on most Japanese exports will be set at 15% from Thursday. 'While the hurdle has been lowered [from the initially announced rate], the impact of the tariff remains unclear,' said Hitoshi Suzuki, president of sake brewery Ichinokura Co. in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Riding a Japanese cuisine boom, Ichinokura has built up its exports to the United States, and the tariff hike comes as a significant blow. Sake was subject to nearly zero tariffs at 3 cents per liter, but that will now rise to 15%. Tariffs on fishery products will also increase. A seafood processing company in Mombetsu, Hokkaido, has doubled its scallop exports to the United States since China imposed an import ban on Japanese seafood products in 2023. 'If we pass on the tariff increase through our prices, customers in the United States may hesitate to buy,' the president of the company said. According to the Japanese government, products with original tariff rates of 15% or higher will continue to be subject to the same tariff rates. This was a special measure agreed upon between the European Union and the United States, and Japan had also agreed to the same mechanism. However, this was not explicitly stated in Thursday's executive order. Even Akazawa, who led the negotiations, told reporters Friday, 'We need to examine the details' of the agreements. No joint document made The lack of a joint agreement document has also made the deal unclear. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on July 23, 'We'll evaluate [Japan's performance] every quarter and if the president's unhappy then we'll boomerang it back to the 25% tariff rate, both on cars and the rest of their products.' Itochu Corp. Executive Vice President Tsuyoshi Hachimura said Friday at a press conference: 'The agreement has not been put into writing, and there is even talk of evaluating [Japan's performance], so nothing has been decided yet. At this stage, it is better not to be too positive.' The government also intends to take domestic measures. 'We will make every effort to mitigate the impact on industry and employment, such as providing financial support,' Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said when he heard opinions from the automobile industry in Tokyo on Thursday. Saisuke Sakai of Mizuho Research & Technologies, Ltd. pointed out uncertainty for companies, saying that the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises would be particularly significant. 'It is necessary for the public and private sectors to work together not only to provide financial support to companies but also to help them shift away from dependence on exports to the United States and develop products with high added value,' Sakai said.
Japan Times
19 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japan's new auto sales log first fall in seven months
New automobile sales in Japan in July fell 3.6% from a year before to 390,516 units, marking the first fall in seven months, industry data have shown. The drop included declines of over 10% for Nissan and Honda. Of the total, sales of passenger and freight vehicles declined 4.2% to 252,196 units, and minivehicle sales dropped 2.6% to 138,320 units, according to the data released Friday by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. Nissan's sales fell 18.9%, reflecting delays in releasing new models. Honda posted a 12.3% drop, while Toyota and Subaru also saw their sales fall. On the other hand, Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda continued to post strong sales figures.
