The new regulations will come into play from 1 April 2021 but producers have been given until 31 March 2024 to adhere to the new laws.

The new regulations are similar to those of scotch whisky and state that the whole production process must take place at a distillery in Japan and must be aged for at least three years, be bottled at at least 40% abv and can only use “plain caramel colouring”.

*picture courtesy of Drinkmagazine.Asia

The new regulations have been long awaited for the Japanese whisky category and those brands that cannot match the criteria cannot by law label the product “Japanese whisky” or use any marketing references to Japanese history or culture.

This includes the use of the Japanese flag, famous places, landmarks and cities or anything that suggests the product satisfies the above production requirements.