Wine Consumption Trends and Prospects in East Asia: Case studies of China and Japan

Against the background of the slowdown in the growth of the global wine market, East Asia, especially China and Japan, has become a key region for exploring the next stage of development in the wine industry. This study is based on secondary data from authoritative organizations such as the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, Euromonitor International, and Trade Map, combined with a review of peer-reviewed academic literature, to conduct a systematic comparative analysis of wine consumption trends in China and Japan from 1995 to 2024. The study adopts a three-dimensional analytical framework，namely the spectrum of "emerging markets vs. mature markets", the model of consumers' intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and the triple helix model of industry-government-academia interaction, to identify the structural drivers that shape the unique development trajectories of the two markets. The analysis finds that the downturn in China's wine market is the result of a combination of multiple structural factors. Among those factors, the most prominent ones are the slowdown in GDP growth and the persistent problem of income inequality, rather than a single policy or trade event. As for Japan, Behind the relative stability of the Japanese market, lies a new trend of high-end consumption driven by local cultural identity. This study clearly adopts descriptive and correlational analysis as its research methods, and testable hypotheses are put forward at the end of the paper for future empirical research, to provide strategic implications for industry practitioners.