Japanese beer imports heat up as Korean hostility cools

Japanese beer Asahi displayed at a supermarket in Seoul on July 17 [YONHAP]

Imports of Japanese beers to Korea reached a record high of 7,985 tons in July, an increase of 239 percent on year, amid thawing Korea-Japan tensions.

The figure is the highest for the period since Korea Customs Service began to compile the statistics in 2000.

Boycott of Japanese products was initiated in Korea back in July 2019 when anti-Japanese sentiment peaked after the Japanese government imposed export bans on some key materials to Korea's technology industry.

Japan’s restrictions were seen as a protest against the decision by Korea’s Supreme Court to order Japanese companies to compensate Korean individuals who had been subjected to forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea between 1910-45.

The recent July figure was even higher than before the Japanese restrictions when imported Japanese beer to Korea was at 7,281 tons in July 2018.

Cost spent to import Japanese beers jumped 281.9 percent on year to $6.78 million, according to trade statistics compiled by Korea Customs Service. The figure is the second highest for the same period after the $7.07 million in July 2017. It is also higher than in July 2018 when the cost hit $6.64 million.

Out of the total amount of imported beers, Japan took up the largest proportion with 35.5 percent. China followed with 3,141 tons, the Netherlands with 2,696 tons, Germany with 1,881 tons, Poland with 1,639 tons, Ireland with 843 tons and the United States with 656 tons.

Japanese beers such as Kirin, Sapporo and Asahi are once again repopulating the coolers of Korean supermarkets and convenience stores.

Lotte Asahi Liquor, a subsidiary of Lotte Group, which imports alcoholic beverages including Asahi, saw revenue jump 86.9 percent on year to 32.2 billion won ($24.05 million) in 2022. Operating profit swung into the black to reach 3.5 billion won.

Chinese and Dutch brands such as Tsingtao and Heineken took the top spots with the largest proportions among imported beers during the “No-Japan” boycott, but have since been overtaken by Japan once again.

Imports from Japanese fisheries lost 4.6 percent on year to 2,415 tons and it has been consecutively dwindling down for four months since April, which is seen to reflect the national sentiment against Japan’s discharging of treated radioactive water from the ruins of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Import costs from Japanese fisheries also decreased by 21.2 percent to $9.6 million. It is the first time in 23 months the figure fell below $10 million, when it was $7.57 million in August 2021.

Japanese media outlets are reporting that the Japanese government will soon begin to discharge the treated water by the end of this month, at the earliest.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]