Animal Welfare Report 2025: Japan

The Truth About Japanese Food Companies and Hen Welfare

Animal Welfare Initiatives of Japan’s Leading Global Food Companies

Global food companies in Japan recognize the need for improved animal welfare practices, but what kind of policies are these companies actually implementing, and are they actually making a difference in easing animal suffering?

Animal Welfare Report 2025: Japan examines an urgent animal welfare issue—caging laying hens. By switching to cage-free systems, companies can lessen the pain of billions of birds.

This inaugural report evaluates the state of cage-free initiatives* across Japan’s top global food companies, recognizing the companies’ efforts and identifying areas for improvement.

_{*This report is based on publicly available data as of August 1, 2025.}

Jump to Report Results

Facts About Animal Welfare in Japan

What is animal welfare?

“Animal welfare” refers to the quality of life and well-being of all animals, which includes their physical, mental, and emotional health. It means that animals are provided with comfortable living conditions, adequate access to food and water, protection from suffering, and opportunities to express natural behaviors.

Why focus on laying hens in cages?

Around 95% of eggs produced in Japan come from hens in battery cages. Several birds are crammed into a single cage, each hen with less cage-floor space than an A4 to B5 piece of paper would provide (about the size of an iPad).

Hens in cages hurt immensely—studies suggest that they endure several thousand hours of pain and anguish. Caged hens get trapped in cage bars and die, their bodies often left to decay beneath the feet of their companions.

Cage confinement of laying hens is also associated with significantly higher rates of Salmonella, raising serious food safety concerns.

Image is representative of typical factory farming conditions.

What are cage-free eggs?

Cage-free eggs come from laying hens who are not housed in any type of cage.

Cage-free housing reduces the thousands of hours of pain and suffering that caged hens endure.

Across Japan, cage-free eggs are currently sold by major supermarkets and retailers, including Aeon, Costco, and Ito Yokado.

The cage-free movement is progressing in Asia:

Many companies in the region are purchasing cage-free egg credits in lieu of physical eggs when supply is unavailable. These cage-free egg credits are available in Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Singapore.

In Taiwan, eggs must be labeled according to their hen-housing origin by law. All 6,500 or more 7-Eleven locations in Taiwan started selling cage-free eggs in November 2023.

The China Chain Store and Franchise Association has established cage-free egg-labeling standards that provide a great marketing opportunity and encourage producers to go cage-free.

In Thailand, major egg producer Charoen Pokphand Foods has pledged to increase cage-free egg production by 10% annually. Thawnee Phant Farm in Phuket also completed its transition to a cage-free system, becoming the first cage-free egg farm on the country’s largest island.

Consumers in Japan Care About Animal Welfare

A multinational public opinion survey* indicates that consumers in Japan care about animals and expect corporations to treat them humanely.

Image is representative of typical factory farming conditions.

Companies should treat animals well:

76% of respondents in Japan agree

Image is representative of typical factory farming conditions.

Farm animals can feel pain:

73% of respondents in Japan agree

Image is representative of typical factory farming conditions.

Farm animals can feel fear:

71% of respondents in Japan agree

*Mercy For Animals commissioned this multinational survey, conducted in collaboration with third-party experts, in 2021. Independent third-party agency Cint collected the data.

Japan’s Animal Welfare Progress and Opportunities

Does Japan’s food industry prioritize laying hen welfare? The table below categorizes companies according to public evidence of their cage-free commitments and progress.