I’ve drank plenty of whiskey in my time, and jim beam is not on my list of favorites. The moonshine made by the locals down their is better, although JB does make good paint stripper and carburetor cleaner. Why the Japanese take a liking to that swill is beyond me, but to each their own I suppose. Maybe when they move the operation to china, the quality will improve.
It's a major incongruity, given the quality of Japan's domestic single-malt whiskeys. Different target demographics, I guess.