Japan Agriculture Minister Inspects Matcha Cafe in Tokyo

Jiji Press

13:04 JST, April 10, 2026

Tokyo, April 9 (Jiji Press)—Japanese agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki on Thursday visited Matchamon, a cafe in Tokyo that serves matcha-based drinks, exchanging views with executives of its operator about overseas expansion and impacts on tea production from the ongoing Middle East crisis.

The executives said that there have been no problems with raw material procurement. But they added that they have been forced to postpone the planned opening of cafes in the Middle East due to the tense situation in the region.

Japan’s exports of green tea, including matcha, totaled ¥72.1 billion in 2025. The year-on-year export growth in value was the largest for green tea among all agricultural, forestry and fisheries products.

The minister showed expectations for conveying the true attraction of matcha to people around the world through the operation of cafes abroad in addition to tea exports.

Tea producers are increasingly concerned about fuel procurement amid the Middle East tensions. A large amount of fuel oil is needed in April-June for work such as drying harvested tea leaves.

“It is important to create a situation in which sufficient fuel oil is supplied,” Suzuki said.