Japan

Although better known for sake than for grape wine, Japan has made grape wine for several hundred years. The country's wine industry is built around a national geographical indication (GI) system administered by the National Tax Agency (NTA), which has designated five wine GIs to date: Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Yamagata, Osaka and Nagano. Most Japanese wine is produced on Honshu, the main island, particularly in Nagano, Yamagata and Yamanashi, while Hokkaido, the northernmost and coldest of Japan's four main islands, is a relatively new cool-climate wine region. The Japan Wineries Association (JWA), founded in 1974 to develop the industry, counted 349 member companies as of July 2026.

• Five NTA-designated wine geographical indications: Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Yamagata, Osaka and Nagano
• Most Japanese wine is produced on Honshu, particularly in Nagano, Yamagata and Yamanashi
• Japan Wineries Association founded 1974, 349 member companies as of July 2026

Of the various stories about the origins of Japanese viticulture, the most widely accepted holds that the Buddhist monk Gyoki planted the first vineyards in 718 AD at the Daizenji temple near Katsunuma, southwest of Tokyo, the same area identified as the origin of the Koshu grape. European wine reached Japan's elite during much of the 16th century but was outlawed for much of the 17th and 18th centuries under the sakoku policy of imperial isolationism. The 1970s brought a sharp increase in Japanese interest in, and tourism to, the West, and many Western fashions and traditions reached Japan, most noticeably in food and drink; wine consumption boomed, and although the focus was heavily on imported wines, domestic wine production grew as a result. Viticulture in Hokkaido, now one of Japan's five GI wine regions, has been practiced since the 1960s.

• The most widely accepted origin story has the monk Gyoki planting Japan's first vineyards in 718 AD near Katsunuma
• European wine reached Japan's elite in the 16th century, then was outlawed for much of the 17th and 18th centuries under the sakoku isolationism policy
• A 1970s rise in Western cultural interest and tourism boosted wine consumption and domestic production
• Hokkaido viticulture dates to the 1960s

Japan's GI system for liquor, including wine, is administered by the National Tax Agency. When the WTO began, protecting wine and spirit GIs became a duty of member nations, and the NTA established the system in 1994; a 2015 revision made all liquor categories eligible. When a liquor has characteristics specific to its area, the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency grants the GI on application from a producers' association of that area, and from then on only producers of the area may use the GI on their products. Under NTA Notice No. 19, a geographical indication is one designated by the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency or protected in a WTO member state other than Japan, and 'Wine' is one of four liquor categories alongside Spirits, Seishu/Sake and Other kinds of liquor. Five wine GIs have been designated to date: Yamanashi (16 July 2013), Hokkaido (28 June 2018), Yamagata (30 June 2021), Osaka (30 June 2021) and Nagano (30 June 2021, alongside a Nagano sake GI designated the same date). Under the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, which took effect 1 February 2019, Japan and the EU mutually protect a list of designated GIs that includes Yamanashi and Hokkaido wine.

• GI system established by the NTA in 1994; revised in 2015 to cover all liquor categories
• Under NTA Notice No. 19, a GI is designated by the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency or protected in another WTO member state
• Only producers within the designated area may use a protected GI on their products
• Five wine GIs designated: Yamanashi (2013), Hokkaido (2018), Yamagata, Osaka and Nagano (all 2021)
• Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (effective 1 February 2019) mutually protects GIs including Yamanashi and Hokkaido wine

Yamanashi's wine GI was designated 16 July 2013, and the prefecture received the largest volume of wine grapes nationally in the April 2024 to March 2025 season, 5,647 tonnes, with Koshu accounting for 3,377 tonnes of that total. Hokkaido's wine GI was designated 28 June 2018. Hokkaido is a relatively new cool-climate wine region in northern Japan, with viticulture dating to the 1960s. Its 3,566 tonnes of wine grape receipts were led by Niagara, Kerner and Müller-Thurgau among white varieties and Zweigelt and Pinot Noir among red varieties. Nagano's wine GI (and a separate Nagano sake GI) was designated 30 June 2021. Nagano recorded the second-largest wine grape receipts nationally at 4,182 tonnes, led by Niagara and Chardonnay among white varieties and Concord and Merlot among red varieties. Yamagata's wine GI was designated 30 June 2021. Yamagata recorded 2,362 tonnes of wine grape receipts, led by Delaware among white varieties and Muscat Bailey A among red varieties. Osaka's wine GI was also designated 30 June 2021, making it one of the five prefectures with an NTA wine geographical indication.

• Yamanashi: wine GI since 2013; largest wine grape receipts nationally at 5,647 tonnes, led by Koshu (3,377 tonnes)
• Hokkaido: wine GI since 2018; cool-climate region with viticulture since the 1960s; 3,566 tonnes of wine grape receipts
• Nagano: wine and sake GIs since 2021; second-largest wine grape receipts at 4,182 tonnes
• Yamagata: wine GI since 2021; 2,362 tonnes of wine grape receipts, led by Delaware and Muscat Bailey A
• Osaka: wine GI since 2021

Koshu is Japan's most-received white wine grape by volume, with 3,567 tonnes received nationally (a 20.1 percent share) in the April 2024 to March 2025 season. Koshu originated in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture, and legend credits the monk Gyoki with introducing it in 718 AD. Muscat Bailey A is Japan's most-received red wine grape by volume, with 2,388 tonnes received nationally (a 13.5 percent share) in the same season. Kawakami Zenbei developed it in 1927. As of 2022, Koshu, Muscat Bailey A and Yamasachi (developed by the Ikeda Town Grape and Wine Research Institute in Hokkaido) are the Japanese-bred grape varieties registered with the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine). Wine-Searcher singles out the 'native' Koshu, Europe's Muscat of Alexandria and Muscat Bailey A, a Japanese hybrid, as the most notable of the small handful of grape varieties used for Japanese wine. Most Japanese wine tends toward sweeter and lighter styles. Humidity is among the main climatic challenges facing Japanese viticulture, so vines are often trained on overhead wires in a pergola (tendone) system, known in Japanese as tanazukuri, which lets the bunches reach the air circulating beneath the foliage and reduces the risk of fungal disease.

• Koshu: top white grape by volume nationally, 3,567 tonnes (20.1 percent share); native to Katsunuma, Yamanashi
• Muscat Bailey A: top red grape by volume nationally, 2,388 tonnes (13.5 percent share); developed 1927 by Kawakami Zenbei
• Koshu, Muscat Bailey A and Yamasachi are OIV-registered Japanese-bred varieties (as of 2022)
• Most Japanese wine tends toward sweeter, lighter styles
• Pergola (tanazukuri) training is often used to counter humidity and the risk of fungal disease

The Japan Wineries Association (JWA) was founded in November 1974 by 15 domestic wine producers to develop the industry and foster relations among its members. As of July 2026, the JWA counted 169 member companies plus 6 corporate group members representing 180 companies, for 349 member companies in total. The JWA's statistics pages present National Tax Agency data, including Sake no Shiori (July 2026) and the agency's overview of liquor manufacturing and wholesale businesses (March 2026), with figures such as the number of wineries by prefecture and domestic grape receipts by variety. The national grape receipt figures in this article come from that March 2026 overview and cover grapes used as raw material from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

• Japan Wineries Association founded November 1974 by 15 producers
• 349 total member companies as of July 2026: 169 direct members plus 6 corporate groups (180 companies)
• JWA statistics pages present National Tax Agency liquor industry data

Primary sources: https://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/liquor_administration/geographical/index.htm, https://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/liquor_administration/geographical/02.htm, https://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/liquor_administration/geographical/01.htm, https://www.winery.or.jp/aboutus/overview/, https://www.winery.or.jp/basic/statistics/. Secondary sources: https://jwine.net/knowledge/varieties/, https://jwine.net/knowledge/production/, https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-japan. Last verified 2026-10-05