Big things are about to happen within the Japanese whisky industry with the announcement this week of a change to the laws governing the labelling of products from Japan. These have been drawn up to tackle growing concern that the reputation and sales of Japanese whisky, both of which have grown rapidly over the last decade, could be irreparably harmed if not acted upon. The current loose regulations can mislead customers, with the newly announced ones offering more transparency so that consumers know what they are purchasing and drinking.
At the core of this is that many Japanese whiskies are not what they appear to be - ie : they may not actually be Japanese. Many brands actually include whiskies from other countries (such as America, Australia, Canada, Ireland and Scotland) alongside Japanese whisky in the blend. In some cases there can be no Japanese whisky present at all in a 'Japanese' blend.
