Does Japan use domestic barley, or does it primarily rely on imports?

Okay, let's talk about Japanese barley.

Simply put, the vast majority of barley in Japan is imported, with only a small portion being domestically produced.

You can think of it this way:

Imagine your family runs a steamed bun shop and needs 100 catties of flour every day. Your backyard wheat field, after a year of hard work, can only produce 10 catties of flour. So, you'd definitely have to buy the remaining 90 catties from the market, right? The situation with barley in Japan is pretty much the same.

Why such a heavy reliance on imports?

Demand is too high, domestic production can't keep up: Barley has a very wide range of uses in Japan. It's not only for human consumption (e.g., mixed with rice to make 'mugimeshi', or for barley tea), but a much larger quantity is used as feed for pigs and cattle, and for making beer and shochu. These are all 'big consumers,' and the amount grown on Japan's limited arable land is simply not enough to meet the demand.
Cost issues: In countries with vast land and sparse populations like Australia and Canada, large-scale barley cultivation using giant harvesters is very low-cost. In contrast, land in Japan is precious, and labor is expensive, making domestic cultivation much more costly. Therefore, importing is more economical.

So, where does Japan's domestically grown barley go?

It's like those 10 catties of 'carefully cultivated' flour from your backyard; you wouldn't use it for ordinary meat buns, but rather for something special and high-quality. The same principle applies to domestically produced Japanese barley, which is mainly used in a few areas:

High-quality food products: For example, 'mugimeshi' used in high-end restaurants, health foods emphasizing 'domestically sourced ingredients,' or premium barley tea.
Craft beer and shochu: Many ambitious breweries specifically use 100% domestically grown Japanese barley as a selling point. This symbolizes quality and 'terroir.' Consumers are also willing to pay for this 'local sentiment' and unique flavor.

Speaking of whisky, this gets even more interesting.

Many people have a misconception that 'Japanese whisky' must use domestically produced ingredients. However, in reality, most well-known Japanese whiskies (such as Suntory's Yamazaki and Hakushu, and Nikka's Yoichi and Miyagikyo) use malted barley almost entirely imported from abroad, primarily from Scotland, the UK, and Australia.

Why is this the case?

Specialized malting techniques: Whisky has very high requirements for malt, such as specific protein content, germination rate, and so on. Maltsters in Scotland and other regions have centuries of experience and can provide very stable and high-quality malt, which is fundamental to producing good whisky. Major Japanese distilleries prefer to rely on this specialized supply chain.
Flavor requirements (especially peaty notes): To produce peated whisky with smoky, antiseptic flavors, peat is used to dry the malt. Scottish peat flavor is unique, so if Japanese distilleries want to make this style of whisky, the most direct way is to import pre-processed 'peated malt' directly from Scotland.
Again, cost and yield: As mentioned earlier, growing and malting barley domestically is costly, and the yield cannot keep up with the huge production demand.

However, there's a new trend worth noting in recent years.

As Japanese whisky gains increasing popularity, some smaller, emerging 'craft' whisky distilleries (such as Chichibu, Akkeshi, Shizuoka, etc.) have started to make a name for themselves. They strongly emphasize 'Japanese terroir' and are beginning to experiment with using domestically grown Japanese barley for distillation, even building their own small-scale malting facilities.

This is similar to how high-end restaurants are now emphasizing 'farm-to-table.' These distilleries aim to create a pure 'Japanese lineage' starting from the raw ingredients. While this is not yet mainstream, it represents a very cool future direction for Japanese whisky.

To summarize:

Overall: Imported barley dominates Japanese consumption, with domestic production serving as a small but refined supplement.
In the whisky sector: Large brands generally use imported malt to ensure quality and volume, but emerging small distilleries are actively exploring the possibility of using local barley, embracing the concept of 'Japanese terroir.'