CBD, Hemp Fiber, Seeds and Oil: Meros – USDA report series on Japan’s market for hemp-derived products released

Anyone exploring the shops and cafes of Japan’s major cities in the past two years has certainly noticed the explosion of CBD products on retail shelves, online shops and in a growing number of cafes. CBD consumer products range from tinctures and gummies to cosmetics and even pet products, some imported and some manufactured in Japan using CBD raw materials primarily from the U.S., China and the EU.

While CBD products are a major current trend, interest in the Japanese market for a variety of hemp-derived products has grown dramatically in the past few years.Hemp seed and hemp seed oil appear poised for growth in the Japanese health food sector; longer term, there may be opportunities for hemp fiber in construction, insulation and plastic.

Meros recently teamed up with the U.S. Embassy Japan to develop a series of reports on the Japanese market and import regulations for hemp-derived products, to serve as a resource for U.S. exporters planning their business development in Japan.  The 2018 U.S. Farm bill  legalized the production of industrial hemp in the U.S., defined any cannabis plant or derivative thereof, that contains not more than 0.3 percent delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) on a dry-weight basis. This authorization of production in the U.S. has brought optimism that a new commodity crop can be developed in the U.S., with a wide range of uses in industrial, feed and wellness markets and potential for export to global markets.

While Japan has a long history of hemp cultivation, today Japan’s domestic hemp use is mainly limited to fiber for traditional uses linked to the Shinto religion, such as shimenawa ropes decorating shrines or the belts of top ranked sumo champions. To grow cannabis in Japan, a cultivation license is necessary and as of 2019 there were only 35 licensed cannabis cultivators, primarily in Tochigi Prefecture, and a total of 9 hectares under cultivation. There is little expectation that this number will increase in the near term.

And yet industrial hemp has a wide potential range of uses in Japan from seeds for human and animal consumption, fiber for use in apparel, building insulation, plastics and construction materials to hemp extracts such as CBD and other cannabinoids in cosmetics and wellness products.  It is expected that these raw materials will need to be imported to Japan; this makes it essential for potential hemp product suppliers to have a deep un

Under Japan’s legal regulatory framework, the Cannabis Control Act bans importation of “cannabis”. The Act defines ‘cannabis’ as “the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa L.) and its products. However, mature cannabis stalks and products made from stalks (excluding resin, which is illegal), as well as cannabis seeds and products made from the seeds are excluded from this legal definition of “cannabis”. Japan has a zero-tolerance level for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in any product.

The Cannabis Control Act does not explicitly mention THC, however, in practice, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) interprets the presence of THC in a product to mean that parts of the cannabis plant other than mature stalks or seeds were used.Unacceptable parts include flowers, buds, leaves, immature stalks, or roots.

Exporting hemp products to Japan, therefore, requires various documentation and administrative steps in order to comply with the import regulations for legal hemp products.

In this new series of reports, Meros not only looks at the current market dynamics of each product category, but also examples of the import flow and documentation required for hemp fiber, hemp seed, hemp seed oil, CBD and hemp extract products.

Further regulatory changes are expected Japan’s hemp product market in the coming years, so success as a supplier to Japan’s hemp product markets will require on-going observation of the changing dynamics of each market and potential changes in regulation. As always, strong relationships with importers and partners in Japan will be critical for suppliers to navigate these dynamic markets.

The series of reports can be found at the following links:

The Japanese Market for Hemp Fiber

The Japanese Market for Hemp Seed and Hemp Seed Oil Products

The Japanese Market for CBD and Hemp Extracts

New launches and trends in the Japan CBD scene

Last summer, Meros discussed the state of CBD in Japan. But nearly every week there are new launches and updates in Japan. We have been following trends in Japan’s CBD sector closely and here are a few of the recent highlights!

New CBD restaurant opens in Ginza

A concept restaurant called Today’s CBD by ONE-INCH just opened in Ginza this September. The restaurant is open three days a week, Wednesday through Friday, and a different chef is in charge each night. There is a regular menu, but in addition, the day’s chef adds daily specials to the menu each day. CBD is included in the condiments and CBD drinks are also offered.

New CBD specialty store opens near Shibuya

CBD (coffee) is a specialty CBD store that opened in Komaba Todai-mae in September. The store offers smoothies and coffee which include CBD oil. First you choose a drink, then you select the type and concentration of CBD to add. Each brand of oil is unique –  some are tasteless and odorless, while others have a hemp flavor. You can also enjoy the drinks on their own without and CBD added. The shop also sells CBD products such as CBD vapes and gummies.

New CBD beauty brand has launched in Japan

Japanese company Balanced (株式会社バランスド) has just launched a CBD brand called Walala and announced its first product, a CBD face cream, using synthetic CBD. In order to create a 100% legal CBD brand in Japan, they decided to use only chemically synthesized CBD for their products. Although CBD derived from cannabis stem and seed is not illegal in Japan, Balanced couldn’t find a partner who could provide CBD to their standards so they decided to use chemically synthesized CBD instead. All products are manufactured at their Japanese factory. In the future, they plan to sell products to beauty salons, esthetic salons, and massage parlors, as well as developing CBD products such as supplements and oils.

Follow Meros on social media for other updates on CBD trends in Japan and any new and interesting launches we find next!

CBD Products Making a Move into Mainstream Channels in Japan

CBD products are increasing in the Japanese market, taking steps to move from a niche product into mainstream channels. Although the Japanese government hasn’t explicitly legalized CBD (and continues to strictly ban cannabis itself and any trace of THC),  Japan allows importation of some types of CBD products as long as the products remain within the guidelines of several key relevant laws. CBD products first entered Japan around 2016 and have been continually expanding their market. Now, some mainstream retail chains have begun to handle CBD products and a CBD specialty store opened just this year in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku.

cbd products in japan

Discount retailer Don Quijote has shelves of CBD vape liquid and HealthyTOKYO cafe in Harajuku offers original CBD beverages.

Don Quijote, one of the largest discount chain stores in Japan, with almost 400 branches nationally, sells a large variety of CBD vape products such as CBD vape liquids, cartridges, and disposable vaping devices. Don Quijote handles overseas brands such as NATUuR CBD, as well as domestic CBD vape liquid brands like Kamikaze and Tsukinoha. Not all branches of Don Quijote handle CBD products, but the fact that this kind of mega-chain has started to sell CBD indicates that CBD awareness has moved to the next level in the Japanese market.

Vape products are not the only CBD products that you can find in Japan. Biople by CosmeKitchen, a shop that sells natural and organic cosmetics, sells foreign branded health and beauty CBD products such as EliXinol’s CBD oil, Endoca’s CBD capsules and Medeterra’s CBD cream. Biople has 18 stores in Japan and some outlets are located in well-known department stores such as Lumine and OIOI (Marui).

While Don Quijote and Biople sell a variety of CBD products, they don’t have their own branded products. HealthyTOKYO CBD Shop & Café, the first CBD specialty store in Japan just opened this year, sells its own branded CBD products. HealthyTOKYO not only sells CBD oil, cream, and capsules but also CBD snacks, coffees, teas and cocoa in their café.  According to the manager, their own private brand HealthyTOKYO CBD is the best-selling of their product lines. The store’s main customers are non-Japanese people and travelers, and therefore sales have unfortunately dropped recently due to COVID19 and the decline in tourists.

With CBD products beginning to appear in popular discount chains and well-known department stores, as well as many online channels, it is clear that CBD has entered a new phase of market expansion. As more people become aware of what CBD is, we expect further domestic product development, increased imports and potentially new usages in health, beauty and food products.

Interested in understanding more about the CBD market in Japan or understanding the steps that exporters have to take in order to export CBD products to Japan? Reach out to us at inquiry@merosconsulting.com


What is CBD?

CBD (Cannabidiol) is a chemical compound found in cannabis. Unlike the cannabis compound THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) that makes a user feel “high”, the chemical compound CBD is associated with health benefits such as relaxation of the mind and body and relief of anxiety and worry. Products such as oils, cosmetics, and even snacks that contain CBD are increasingly popular in many countries around the world.