Shine Muscat is a premium green grape variety developed in Japan.
It was developed by the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization of Japan in 1988, and the variety was officially registered in Japan in 2006.
Since then, Shine Muscat has gained popularity for its high sugar content and crisp texture, leading to widespread cultivation in countries such as Korea and China.
01
1988Development
02
2006Variety Registration
A Japanese-developed variety, spreading to Korea and China
* The map is a simplified illustration for reference.
Japan considers the large-scale cultivation of its domestically developed variety overseas as a 'variety outflow' issue.
In particular, there is a growing need for rights protection, as overseas cultivation has spread without formal license agreements.
The Japanese government and private sector plan to establish a dedicated agency for new variety rights protection, aiming to launch in August 2026.
This will be the first time an organization will be established to professionally manage breeder's rights—intellectual property rights for new varieties in the agricultural sector.
The new agency will be entrusted with breeder's rights held by public research institutions and local governments,
monitor the status of overseas cultivation, and take legal action if rights infringement is confirmed.
Additionally, the agency plans to manage Japanese varieties overseas under a formal licensing system,
and promote a structure in which royalty revenues are reinvested into research and development.
Shine Muscat is cited as the representative case in this controversy.
Although it is a variety developed and registered by Japan,
it is now cultivated on a large scale in countries such as Korea and China.
China's cultivated area73,700ha
Compared to Japan30 timesthe scale
Annual lossesOver 10 billion yenestimated
In particular, as of 2022, the cultivated area of Shine Muscat in China is approximately 73,700 ha,
which is known to be about 30 times the size of Japan's cultivated area.
The Japanese government estimates annual losses of over 10 billion yen, based on the royalties that could have been collected if formal license agreements had been implemented.
However, cultivating Shine Muscat in Korea does not immediately mean it is illegal.
To receive variety rights protection overseas, the registration process must be completed in the respective country within a specified period,
but Japan did not complete this process in time.
Therefore, it is explained that the cultivation and distribution of Shine Muscat in Korea is not an issue under current law.
In other words, the fact that Shine Muscat is a 'Japanese-developed variety' and whether its cultivation in Korea is 'illegal' are separate issues.
The core of this controversy lies in how to protect the breeder's rights of the country that developed the variety, how to establish overseas registration procedures,
and how to implement a formal licensing system.
TIMELINETimeline of the Shine Muscat ControversyClick each item for a short description.Click each item to view the description.
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Reporter Seo Jiyeong zo2zo2zo2@asiae.co.kr
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Edit Maeng Jiae mjiae@asiae.co.kr
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