Japan soy sauce shipments in 2025 hit 75-yr low amid westernized diet

NAGOYA - Shipments of domestic soy sauce fell to 670,159 kiloliters in 2025, the lowest level in 75 years and roughly half of the peak in 1973, due to the westernization of the Japanese diet, a soy sauce industry association said Monday.

Other ready-to-use condiments that contain soy sauce as a base, such as "tsuyu" soup base and "tare" sauces, have also become more common, further reducing demand for soy sauce as a raw ingredient in home cooking.