USMEF Launches “Father’s Day is U.S. Beef Day” Initiative in Japan
Comprehensive campaign connects U.S. beef to Father’s Day while boosting consumer demand through retail and foodservice promotions.
Inflation and a weakened currency continue pushing Japan’s food prices upward. With the yen recently hitting its weakest level in 40 years, Japanese consumers are naturally trading down to less expensive food options, particularly for everyday items. At-home consumption of beef dropped 3% in 2025, and has fallen 15% since 2019, according to Japan’s Agriculture & Livestock Industries Corporation.
While retail sales for imported beef are down, the weakened yen is boosting tourism. Last year, a record 42.7 million tourists visited Japan, a 16% increase over 2024, per the Japan National Tourism Organization.
“Japan has a booming tourism industry and visitors are demanding more and more beef,” says USMEF Japan Director Tom Kasatani. “But it is not enough to offset the recent decline in domestic consumption.”
Kasatani says the decline relates to the increased global price of beef as well as a weak exchange rate between the yen and the U.S. dollar. In response, USMEF is stepping up programs to position U.S. beef as the choice for consumers celebrating special occasions such as Father’s Day.
As in the U.S., traditions have developed in Japan of eating certain foods on holidays, special occasions and specific days of the year. Examples ‒ sometimes borne of successful marketing efforts ‒ include chocolates on Valentine's Day, grilled eel in August, and fried chicken or fancy cake at Christmas. With no established tradition of eating a particular food on Father's Day in Japan, USMEF is carving out a place for U.S. beef on this special day.
“We see this as an opportunity to encourage consumers to associate U.S. beef with Father’s Day,” says Kasatani. “When we presented our idea to begin annual Father’s Day promotions for U.S. beef to retailers and foodservice chains, they loved it.”
For this year’s Father’s Day promotion, USMEF launched a retail campaign from May 18 to June 28. Eleven retailers with 1,060 stores participated. Seven nationwide foodservice chains with 316 outlets also took part, including steakhouses and yakiniku and family-style restaurants.
More than 28,000 U.S. beef purchasers at retail and foodservice entered to win prizes during the promotion. USMEF also conducted a social media campaign in which more than 86,000 consumers entered for prizes after reposting articles about the Father’s Day campaign.
The campaign was made possible through the Beef Checkoff Program, Texas Beef Council, Iowa Corn Promotion Board and USDA’s Market Access Program.