Tokyo Cacao is pushing the boundaries of cacao production with the first ever chocolate bar of entirely Japanese origin. The chocolate lineup is produced from trees grown in the Ogasawara Islands, which fall under Tokyo's jurisdiction despite being nearly 1,000 kilometers away from the metropolis.
From 2016-20, Japan's chocolate market grew at an annual rate of 4 to 5 percent, making the country Asia's largest chocolate consumer per capita. But the production of cacao beans, the most important ingredient for making chocolate, has historically been confined to warmer, tropical regions, particularly West Africa, Indonesia and South America.
After an eye-opening visit to a cacao farm in Ghana in 2003, growing the tree in Japan became a goal for Tokyo Cacao's president, Masayuki Hiratsuka. Following another research expedition to Vietnam in 2006 to further understand the production process, the chocolate company finally settled on the archipelago's Hahajima island.