Morinaga & Co., Ltd.

Japanese food manufacturers are accelerating investment in the United States, building new plants and expanding existing ones. According to U.S. Commerce Department statistics, the outstanding balance of Japanese investment in the food sector reached 8.195 billion dollars, or about 1.28 trillion yen, at the end of 2025, roughly 2.5 times the level of a decade earlier. Kikkoman, the largest soy sauce maker, reported that overseas operations accounted for 78 percent of its 745.5 billion yen in sales and 90 percent of its operating profit in its consolidated results for the fiscal year ending in March 2026. In the United States, the company has built its third soy sauce plant, in Wisconsin, which began shipping in October, and its U.S. production capacity is expected to roughly 1.4 times its current level around 2036. Hokuto, a major mushroom producer, aims to bring a second plant into operation during fiscal 2028. Morinaga is investing about 20 billion yen to build a second plant to strengthen supplies of Hi-Chew, with operations starting in October, and Meiji is adding a production line for Hello Panda and plans to roughly double its U.S. sales by fiscal 2030 compared with fiscal 2024. The number of American visitors to Japan rose about 22.9 percent year on year in 2025 to roughly 3.11 million, and the Americas division of the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO, analyzes the trend as a virtuous cycle in which people who become familiar with Japanese food during their stay continue to seek it after returning home.