TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's soy sauce exports in 2023 topped 10 billion yen ($65 million) for the first time on record due to the surging global popularity of "washoku" traditional Japanese cuisine, according to Tokyo Customs data.

Exports are also surging at a record-breaking pace this year, with the figure from January to July exceeding 6.85 billion yen as the popularity of washoku continues to rise following its registration by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage in 2013.

In 2023, soy sauce exports rose to 10.05 billion yen, surpassing the 10 billion yen threshold for the first time since comparable data became available in 1988, Tokyo Customs data showed.

The rise was largely influenced by the increasing number of Japanese restaurants around the world due to the popularity of Japanese food, according to the Japan Soy Sauce Association.

The United States was the top export market for Japanese soy sauce by value in 2023, accounting for 17.9 percent of total exports, followed by China at 8.2 percent and South Korea at 7.0 percent, data showed.

Mass production of soy sauce, mainly made of soybeans, wheat and salt, traces back to the Edo period (1603-1867), according to major soy sauce maker Kikkoman Corp.

The Japanese Agricultural Standards recognizes five types of soy sauce -- common, light color, "tamari", re-fermented, and extra light color -- with the common type accounting for 84.9 percent of total shipments in 2022 and 2023, according to Tokyo Customs.

By volume, soy sauce exports reached about 26,542 kiloliters in the first seven months of this year, surpassing the previous high in the same period in 2022. The export volume in 2023 was the third highest on record at 41,114 kiloliters, according to the data.