Japan Food Packaging Equipment Updates

In 2020, the Japanese market for food packaging machinery was worth $4.5 billion (¥516 billion), an 8 percent increase from 2015. While the population in Japan has decreased by more than 2 million in the past 10 years and continues to decrease, the food processing and packaging sector is growing. By 2065, Japan’s workforce is expected to decrease by 40 percent, resulting in increased demand for automated systems and advanced packaging machinery and equipment. To help address this demand, the Japanese government started programs to assist small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in food processing plant and equipment upgrades to promote increased automation.

The dynamics of the Japanese population also impact food consumption trends and how food is processed. Food processing companies in Japan need to adjust their solutions and equipment to keep up with changing demand. In 2020, approximately 38 percent of the population was living in single-person households, a 13 percent increase from 2015. This significant lifestyle change inevitably impacts consumers’ purchasing habits, especially when it comes to food. Demand for compact packaged food is higher than for bulk packaged food since large family gatherings around meals are no longer common.

When it comes to food processing-related policy and guidelines, the Japanese Sanitation Act is relatively strict, especially when dealing with equipment that touches food or beverages for human consumption. To avoid some of the most strict guidelines, U.S. food packaging companies can introduce technologies that do not directly come into contact with the surface of the food or beverage, such as sorters, bagging machinery, and other material handling and related automation systems. U.S. food packaging equipment solutions with customizable features related to individual packaging or compact packaging would be a good fit for the Japanese market.

Industry experts expect several subsectors of food processing, such as individual packaging solutions and environmentally friendly packaging solutions, to grow. U.S. companies with equipment solutions in these subsectors of food processing should consider entering the Japanese market.

If you have further questions, please contact Office.Tokyo@trade.gov.