Japan: high potential market for CBD

The owner of CBD Coffee in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward Kota Shimomura has noticed a peculiar thing about his customers.He noticed a group of patrons taking curious sips of smoothies and coffees infused with droplets of the cure that became popular not only in Tokyo but globally and impacted immensely the global lifestyle market.

The droplets are nothing, but CBD is also called Cannabidiol. It is a non-psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis, particularly hemp. It can be consumed in edible and topical forms, and its supporters claim that it can ease ailments ranging from acne to inflammation to Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a just product deception that has drawn in numerous customers.

The significant factor that makes people visit such places is the need for sites like this to relax and detox.  As in Japan, there are many one-room apartments, and people don’t have others around them; they can talk.

Health benefits

The significant health benefit is relaxing and detox, as it emerges as a trademark buzzword for the gradually more trendy CBD. As the global discussion about cannabis has shifted in current years, and many countries have turned toward legalization, the extract has appeared in everyday products such as bath salts, moisturizers, and beer.

In late 2019, Scientific American mention a Gallup poll anticipated that the CBD market would be worth $20 billion by 2024. This September, Martha Stewart (wellness guru)

posed for The New York Times by wearing a CBD gummies necklace by claiming that she can eat 20 at a time, thus normalizing the product for mainstream viewers.

Shimomura anticipated that the CBD market of Japan is going to be larger than tobacco within five years. Due to CBD's rising appetite in Japan and analyzing the high demand he has seen at his shop.

But Shimomura is not the first person who saw the growth potential in the cannabidiol business in Japan.

Similarly, former health professional-turned-entrepreneur Michael Bobrove and founder of HealthyTokyo has imported CBD to Japan since 2016. Healthy Tokyo is presently located in Harajuku and at Haneda Airport, where it sells edibles, oils, and a smattering of pet-friendly products. The very known Tomigaya’s Camelback Coffee now keeps a bottle of CBD extract beside its register. The beachside Magokoro cafe of Kamakura has a selection of CBD-infused soaps and muscle balms for sale to accompany its health-conscious, all-vegan menu.

Skin Benefits

A popular model and former Miss World Japan, Priyanka Yoshikawa channelized her national fame into a CBD-inspired skincare line called Mukoomi. Its initial product line has a CBD-infused serum, toner, and face cream.

She explained the skin benefits provided by CBD.  She said that she used steroid-infused creams for her sensitive skin for several years, which results in trouble sleeping. But CBD made her skin more with a better night’s rest. CBD can help improve the quality of her sleep.

The critical factor that makes Japan a profitable market for CBD is the workaholic nature of the Japanese lifestyle. People in Japan need to chill more. The addition of CBD in their lifestyle can bring more of that relaxation, one-on-one time with themselves.

In September, Yoshikawa hosted a three-day pop-up for Mukoomi in Ebisu. She informed about making Mukoomi the go-to CBD-based beauty and wellness brand in Asia, not just Japan. For this, a continued source of the high-quality and clean CBD used in Mukoomi products is needed. The CBD utilized in products is tested twice by an independent lab and manufacturers.

Legal obstructions

Japan’s Cannabis Control Act stifles the growth and sale of hemp in-country due to which few Japanese brands use Kentucky-grown hemp in their CBD coffee. The legislation was passed in 1948 under the U.S.-led Occupation of Japan.  This legislation states the prohibition was prescribing patients with medicines manufactured from cannabis, exporting or importing of cannabis, receiving treatment with medicines manufactured from cannabis, and advertising cannabis in pharmaceutical or medical affairs.

Tokyo’s new enamored with CBD supports cannabis research and legalization. This sees a prospect to reconstitute the societal interpretation and law of it. Two influential groups leading the charge include Green Zone Japan and the Japanese Clinical Association of Cannabinoids (JCAC). They inform others about Japan’s strong history with the plant as a reason to rethink it as an illicit drug.

Naoko Miki, who is one of the Green Zone founders, recently wrote that hemp is considered a sacred plant and a “symbol of purity and fertility” in Shintoism, one of Japan’s indigenous religion. In the past, hemp fibers have been used to make ropes and curtains at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is the primary psychoactive element found in medical marijuana? The Mayo Clinic has classified it as a prospective treatment for ailments, including Crohn’s disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, among others. Due to its beneficial property, it is currently legal in 33 states and many other countries.

Since Japan’s Cannabis Control Act passed, there is a fight to consider medical marijuana as a potential treatment for sick patients.

A green future ?

Sequentially for medical marijuana to ultimately become legal in Japan, both JCAC  and Green Zone be aware of the acceptance of the current wave of CBD ruse and approaching its normalization is the first step.

Green Zone is adding Japanese subtitles to the new documentary “CBD Nation” and virtually screening it for members all through the year. In mid-November, JCAC will host an all-day webinar with several speakers who will explain the benefits of and research developments related to CBD.

There are lots of companies that try to sell CBD by separating CBD from cannabis. CBD is a part of medical cannabis, which is the first step for the legalization of cannabis.

Green Zone considers the final legalization of medical marijuana a human rights subject. The benefits of restarting hemp growth in the short term could activate massive tax benefits and revenue for Japan.

According to the Medical Cannabis Network Quarterly report, in 1954, there were around 37,313 hemp farmers, and most recent statistics indicate that there were just 37 hemp farmers in Japan in 2016.

In a country weighed down by concerns of the dwindling workforce and an aging population, one way to arouse its agricultural and manufacturing arms would be to re-start cultivation on a large scale.

In 2019 July, Dr. Harumi Kikuchi and the Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association start a campaign to call for the stimulation of hemp growth in northern Japan to plant 20,000 hectares of the crop. The purpose behind planting is to use Japanese-grown hemp in foods, health products, and cosmetics.

The campaign’s press release mentioned that outdated international norms that fuse hemp with marijuana have subdued hemp growth since 1948. It is necessary to allowing hemp growth for the agricultural revitalization of Japan.

Cannabis expert Yoshiko also sees upsides for a traditionally botanical society similar to Japan. She explained Cannabis is highly beneficial. Cannabis companies can provide jobs at the starting level and higher than minimum-wage employment to the people who can’t work in restaurants right now, who can’t do barista work right now, who are going to college remotely. There are growing advancements in HVAC technology and LED technology; that is turning the way so that agriculture can be more sustainable, and this is because of enormous cannabis growth.  Cannabis growth has a high potential to create new jobs for people living in the countryside. In this way, manufacturing cannabis can provide lucrative job opportunities in Japan’s less-populated areas.

In the United States, CBD opened the door for medical cannabis to loads of people who had never been interested in it. Similarly, it is happening in Japan, on a smaller scale, but the CBD market has a high probability of growing faster in the coming years.