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Overview
Japan is an important destination for UK food and drink exports which totalled around £402 million in 2019 to 2020. The UK’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Japan are helping our farmers and UK businesses to capitalise on the high demand for British food and drink in Japan, and benefit from new opportunities to sell to one of the world’s largest economies.
On a caloric basis, Japan’s self-sufficiency rate for food is only around 38% (2022) so the country is heavily dependent on imports. The US has the biggest share of Japan’s imports (around 17%) followed by China, Thailand and Australia.
The value of food and drink exports from the UK is relatively small but has been steadily growing in recent years. Japanese consumers prioritise quality, value and convenience when purchasing food and drink and the relatively small size of Japanese homes means food that comes in small or individually sized packages is popular. Japan’s ageing population has also increased interest in health foods and supplements.
UK produce is generally considered to be high quality but also relatively expensive. This makes it more important to emphasise the unique selling points of a product and aspects such as provenance or sustainable production methods.
The UK’s 2 FTAs with Japan enable the food and drink sector to take advantage of a range of preferential tariffs for exports to Japan, as well as other benefits such as faster release of goods from customs and geographical indication protections.
Trade agreements with Japan
The UK has 2 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Japan:
- the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) henceforth referred to as the UK-Japan FTA, which entered into force on 1 January 2021
- the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement including 12 countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the UK and Vietnam) which entered into force between the UK and Japan on 15 December 2024
The following Parliamentary Report provides information about significant differences between the UK-Japan FTA and the EU-Japan FTA.
The UK-Japan FTA will remain in force alongside CPTPP. At times, you will need to specify which agreement you choose to trade under (notably when applying rules of origin), but benefits from either agreement will mostly apply automatically.
CPTPP entry into force and ratification
As of 15 December 2024, CPTPP is in force between the UK and:
- Brunei
- Chile
- Japan
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Peru
- Singapore
- Vietnam
This means that the UK can access CPTPP provisions with said countries.
On 24 December 2024, CPTPP will enter into force between the UK and Australia; this means that the UK will be able to access CPTPP provisions with Australia from and including 24 December 2024.
The following countries have not yet ratified the terms of the UK’s accession:
Canada and Mexico.
This means that the UK cannot yet access CPTPP provisions with those countries.
This guidance will be updated following each of the remaining countries’ ratification of the terms of the UK’s accession to CPTPP and will include when CPTPP will enter in force between the UK and the relevant remaining country.
The UK being part of the CPTPP trade agreement does not replace the existing UK-Japan trade agreement which has applied since 2021. UK food and drink businesses will be able to benefit from both agreements simultaneously.
New rules of origin options
The origin of a good is where it has been grown, produced or manufactured, and is not necessarily the country where the good is shipped or bought from. For goods to receive a preferential tariff, the goods must meet the specific rules of origin for that agreement.
The UK-Japan FTA and CPTPP have different rules of origin that must be met to receive that agreement’s tariff. UK businesses may choose which rules of origin they will meet to receive a preferential tariff.
For more information on the rules of origin requirements and how to claim for preferential tariff treatment, see our rules of origin guide.
Tariffs
The UK and Japan are committed to supporting the exports of British products through reduced tariffs. The UK-Japan FTA and CPTPP may offer different tariffs on a single product. Where rules of origin are met, tariff preferences are available. If the conditions for preferential access are not met, the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate applies.
| Product | HS code (commodity code) | MFN tariff rate (applied with no need to meet RoOs) | UK-Japan FTA tariff rate | CPTPP tariff rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whisky | HS2208 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Wine | HS2204 | 182.00 Japanese Yen per litre | 0% | 0% by 2026 |
| Beef | HS0201/HS0202 | 38.5% | Reducing gradually down to 9% by 2033 | 9% by 2034 |
| Sweet biscuits | HS1905.31 | 20.4% | Reducing to 0% by 2032 | 0% by 2029 |
Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs)
UK food and drink businesses have access to low tariffs for key food and drink products covered by 25 tariff rate quotas (TRQs). TRQs allow a limited quantity of a product to be imported at a preferential tariff rate. Once the volume of imports has been reached, a higher tariff rate is applied though there is no limit on the total quantity of the good to be imported.
Examples of products that the UK can access under Japan's TRQs:
- Wheat products
- Mixes and doughs and cake mixes
- Food preparations made primarily of wheat
- Wheat
- Wheat flour, pellets, rolled and food preparations
- Udon
- Barley flour, groats and pellets
- Food preparations of barley
- Barley
- Malt
For more information on TRQs, please see our explainer on accessing lower tariffs.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures
The SPS chapter contains commitments on greater transparency and information sharing on animal and plant health and food safety. These commitments will help UK businesses better understand how to access the markets of CPTPP members, including Japan.
The requirement for CPTPP members to be transparent in how they undertake import checks, and for them to be carried out without undue delay will help to ensure smoother and more timely trade. The chapter also establishes dialogue structures to resolve technical issues and provide routes to ease SPS related market access issues.
The agreement provides opportunity for cooperation on SPS export certification including a commitment to work together to progress the use of electronic certification, which will help to reduce administrative processes for businesses.
Customs
The UK and Japan have committed to ensuring that custom procedures are predictable, consistent, and transparent to facilitate trade and minimise financial and administrative burdens for businesses. Predictable customs procedures reduce the time and costs involved for UK food and drink businesses exporting products to Japan, particularly for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
If you are importing goods from Japan, you can use the Trade Tariff Look up tool on GOV.UK to find the current list of goods and duty rates. There is also a step by step guide on how to import on GOV.UK.
Further information on UK-Japan customs procedures can be found in our tariffs and customs guide.
Imports
Standard processing times for import procedures are published on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ website. UK exporters must designate an importer in Japan for customs clearance, who customs will notify of the arrival of the goods being imported.
The importer must make an Import Declaration, which should include the quantity and value of the goods being imported in addition to any other key details, including evidence of meeting rules of origin if they are seeking to use a preferential tariff. Japan offers advance rulings that can be requested before importing goods; see our customs explainer for more information
Import requirements
Foods being imported into Japan must meet and prove to meet certain standards for chemical components.
Additives
For Japanese regulations on additives, information is available on the Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation’s website.
Organic products
Organic foods cannot be sold as ‘organic’ in Japan without the Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) logo. Find out more about exporting products with the JAS logo on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ website.
Food supplements
Food supplements may undergo extra scrutiny. Please visit the Japan Health and Nutrition Food Association’s website for more information.
Unprocessed food products
Unprocessed agricultural products, such as foods that have not been packaged or otherwise prepared for retail sale, may need to pass additional inspections.
Animal inspection
Animal products imported into Japan will require an Export Health Certificate; you can find information on obtaining an Export Health Certificate on GOV.UK.
Plant inspection
Plant imports will fall into one of three categories: prohibited goods; goods not requiring inspection or goods requiring a Phytosanitary Certificate. See GOV.UK for information on plant certification. More information on which items are prohibited and which require certification can be found on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ website.
Labelling
Food and drink products sold in Japan must have labels in Japanese, covering information including the product name, shelf life and ingredients. Further information on food labelling in Japan can be found on the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency’s website
Geographical indications
Geographical Indication (GI) protection is a collective intellectual property right for food, wine and spirit drink names linked to places. A GI guarantees a product’s characteristics or reputation, authenticity and origin, and protects the product name from misuse or imitation.
British food and drink products, particularly luxury products and those seen as 'traditionally British’, are popular in Japan. The GI protections in place allow UK exporters to capitalise on this demand in the Japanese market.
The UK and Japan have agreed to continue to protect geographical indications that have previously been recognised in each other’s systems, maintaining recognition of key UK brands and products in the Japanese market. Products such as Scotch Whisky and West Country Farmhouse Cheddar will retain their GIs.
The UK and Japan also completed processes to protect additional UK GIs in Japan in February 2024 and are working on protecting further GIs.
Opportunities for digital trading
Electronic authentication, electronic contracts, and electronic signatures
Electronic signatures and electronic authentication increase trust in e-commerce by helping to verify that transactions, and the people behind them, are genuine. Strengthening the legal validity of electronic signatures provides greater confidence that transactions can be concluded through electronic means.
By using electronic signatures and/or electronic authentication, you can complete transactions in a matter of minutes regardless of where your counterpart is, reducing costs and simplifying processes.
CPTPP ensures that electronic signatures are considered valid and individuals and businesses can confidently use them.
However, CPTPP countries might impose specific criteria regarding electronic signatures, including some circumstances where electronic signatures are not accepted. You should check local regulations for more information.
Our agreements with Japan and Singapore also ensure that electronic contracts are legally valid and cannot be considered invalid just because they are in electronic form.
However, Japan and Singapore might impose specific criteria regarding the use of electronic contracts, including some circumstances where they cannot be used. You should check local regulations for more information.
You have the freedom to determine the best way of authenticating your transaction. However, for some transaction categories, there can be specific requirements.
Paperless trading
Paperless trading refers to the conduct of trade activities using electronic rather than paper documents. This reduces administrative costs and improves efficiency of processes, benefiting UK businesses across all sectors.
The UK and CPTPP countries are committed to facilitating the flow of trade activities using electronic trade documents.
CPTPP countries have committed to making trade administration documents available in electronic form and to accept electronic versions of those documents. This refers to documents which are required in connection with the import or export of a good and must be presented to customs authorities.
Beyond CPTPP, the UK also enables commercial trade documents that use English law to be accepted in electronic form. This includes documents such as bills of lading, promissory notes, and bills of exchange. This was enabled by the Electronic Trade Document Act.
This complements the commitments made on paperless trading related to trade administration documents required by the UK government or other CPTPP countries as part of the import-export process. Find more information about the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act.
Different countries are at different stages of legislating for paperless trading and trade digitalisation. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has created an interactive Model Law on Electronic Records (MLETR) tracker where you can view different countries’ progress.
Department for Business and Trade support
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) helps businesses export, drives inward and outward investment, negotiates market access and trade agreements, and champions free trade. Helpful links, tools and services available from DBT and wider government include:
Export Support Service (ESS) team
Get support on how to do business abroad. You may also be eligible for 1-2-1 support from a local International Trade Adviser. Businesses in Wales can also access support from Business Wales.
Export Support Service – International Markets (ESS-IM)
DBT's overseas in-market export support service for SMEs with high-export potential. Our International Market Advisers provide tailored support and market introduction information to new and current UK exporters looking to enter or expand into new markets. The service may be accessed globally with International Markets teams in South Asia, China, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, North America and Latin America.
Sign up to access free training on how to grow your international sales.
Information on finance and insurance for UK exports.
Trade and investment factsheets
The latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and individual overseas partners.
Overseas business risk profiles
Information for UK businesses on political, economic and security risks when trading overseas.
Advice and warnings about travel abroad, including entry requirements, safety and security, health risks and legal differences.
Check or report a trade barrier
If you encounter an issue when exporting to any country – report the issue and UK government officials will be able to assess the issue and consider the options we have open to addressing it as appropriate
Search for your specific product to find applicable tariffs for each market, explore rules of origin and step-by-step help on customs procedures
Check import duties and allows you to check the status of available tariff rate quotas
Useful resources
You can find more information about export opportunities, business culture and any existing trade barriers on our Japan market guide.
Prior to export, you must be aware of local regulations and import conditions in Japan that apply to your goods or services. This can include tax considerations, labour laws, intellectual property rules, labelling and packaging regulations, among others.
To seek further information related to local regulations, business culture, or to find a local lawyer, translator, importer or distributor, you can use the following contacts:
- DBT’s Export Support Service International Markets team
- get in touch with DBT at the local British Embassy
- get in touch with the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan
To see information on political, economic and security risks when trading with Japan, please see: