Japanese Beer Imports to Korea Grow Explosively 4 Years after ‘No Japan’ Movement

Imports of Japanese beer have surged while imports of Japanese fish and seafood have plummeted, creating a mixed picture of Japanese imports in the Korean market.

Korea imported 1,910 tons of fish and seafood in June, down 34.7 percent from a year earlier, according to trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service on July 17. This is the aftermath of various rumors stirring public fears ahead of the release of cleaned-up contaminated water from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan. In particular, imports of Japanese live fish such as yellowtail and snapper fell 43 percent in the six months from 823 tons in January to 469 tons in June.

On the other hand, imports of Japanese beer have exploded as relations between the two countries have improved, including the recent restoration of shuttle diplomacy between the heads of state of the two nations. Japanese beer imports soared 264.9 percent from a year ago (1,522 tons) to 5,553 tons last month. Japanese beer has regained its position as South Korea’s top imported beer for the first time in four years since June 2019.

Japan had imposed export restrictions on key semiconductor materials in July 2019 in response to the South Korea Supreme Court’s ruling on compensation for Korean victims of Japanese forced labor, and subsequent boycotts of Japanese products, dubbed “No Japan” in South Korea, had caused imports of Japanese beer to South Korea to plummet.