The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that developing countries have been implementing specific strategies to increase their coffee export volume and value to Japan in the last decade. Additionally, it analyzes how the Japanese market is changing the competitive scenario and providing opportunities to the producing countries. Coffee in Japan is mainly supplied by six developing countries; among them, Colombia has special merit because of its solid presence in the Japanese market since 1962, achieved through the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia and the good performance of Colombian coffee in Japan. This country, which was not a traditional coffee consumer, now has become the third largest consumer among importing countries. Furthermore, Japan has positively influenced coffee transformation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS WEIGHTS, MEASURES AND DEFINITIONS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS FOREWORD CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION SECTION 1.1 IMPORTANCE OF COFFEE FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SECTION 1.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH SECTION 1.3 RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY AND STRUCTURE CHAPTER 2. COFFEE IN JAPAN FROM COLOMBIA AND OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SECTION 2.1 COFFEE IN JAPAN SECTION 2.2 COFFEE FROM COLOMBIA AND OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SECTION 2.3 METHODOLOGY CHAPTER 3. OVERVIEW OF COFFEE IN THE WORLD SECTION 3.1 WORLD COFFEE PRODUCTION SECTION 3.2 WORLD COFFEE CONSUMPTION SECTION 3.3 WORLD COFFEE EXPORTS SECTION 3.4 SHARE OF COFFEE IN TOTAL EXPORTS AND REVEALED COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE (RCA) SECTION 3.5 THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE ORGANIZATION (ICO) AND COFFEE PRICES CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE COFFEE MARKET SECTION 4.1 COFFEE CONSUMPTION TRENDS IN JAPAN SECTION 4.2 THE EXPANSION OF DIFFERENTIATED COFFEES SECTION 4.3 JAPAN MARKET STRUCTURE SECTION 4.4 JAPANESE MARKET REGULATIONS CHAPTER 5. MAIN SUPPLIERS TO JAPANESE COFFEE MARKET SECTION 5.1 MAIN SUPPLIERS SHARE IN JAPAN S COFFEE MARKET SECTION 5.2 STRATEGIES OF MAIN SUPPLIERS IN THE JAPANESE COFFEE MARKET CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDIX REFERENCES