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Japan's vending machine business is in trouble. Over the past decade, beverage giant Itoen has cut its vending machine count by more than half.
Dydo Group Holdings, which relies on vending machines for roughly 90% of its domestic beverage business, posted a net loss of about ¥30.3 billion (about $200 million) after booking a massive impairment charge tied to sluggish vending machine sales.
Sapporo Holdings, meanwhile, has decided to exit the vending machine business entirely, selling the operation to Life Drink Company by October.
According to the Yano Research Institute, the number of vending machines installed nationwide fell from around 4.94 million in 2016 to about 3.97 million in 2022—a drop of nearly a million in six years. That figure is projected to fall further, to around 3.9 million, by 2025.
Japan is unusual in the sheer scale of its vending machine culture, with machines historically found even along remote farm roads and forest paths. So why is the business declining, and is there a path back?
Why the Business Is Struggling
The core issue is price. A 600ml bottle of Oi Ocha now retails for around ¥237 ($1.58) at the manufacturer's suggested price as of March 2026—up about 50% from roughly ¥150 ($1.00) in 2022.
By comparison, the same bottle can go for under ¥80 on sale at supermarkets or drugstores, and ¥150–160 ($1–1.07) at convenience stores—sometimes a threefold price gap for an identical product (in city centers with nearby convenience stores, vending machine prices tend to match).
Vending machines require no staff to operate, but restocking and maintenance still require workers, as do electricity costs. As sales per machine fall, those costs are passed on through higher prices—pushing more people toward supermarkets, convenience stores, and drugstores, even if it means walking a bit farther.
At the industry's peak in 2000, Japan had about 5.6 million vending machines nationwide; since then, the number of supermarkets, convenience stores, and drugstores has continued to grow, giving consumers more affordable alternatives.
Labor costs are a particular burden, since local drivers handle restocking, product rotation, collections, repairs, and cleaning—and Japan's ongoing driver shortage is forcing companies to scale back the number of locations they can service.
In response, Itoen has consolidated operations under Itoen Neos to optimize placement, while Dydo is using AI to optimize delivery routes, improve demand forecasting, and reduce refill frequency—and is also expanding into frozen food and dessert vending machines. Looking further ahead, some envision autonomous, mobile vending machines that could drive themselves to refueling stations overnight and return restocked—though that remains a distant prospect.
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Author: The Sankei Shimbun
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