JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco (Global Fortune 500),[3] one of the three largest international Big Tobacco product manufacturers. The holding company is JT International SA and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan; Geneva, Switzerland; and Raleigh, North Carolina. It sells its brands in 120 countries.
As of 2018, JTI employed around 46,000 people around the world at 400 offices, 27 factories, five research and development centers, and five tobacco-processing facilities.[4]
Eddy Pirard is the president and CEO, and Koji Shimayoshi is the deputy CEO and executive vice president for business development and corporate strategy.[5]
JTI was formed in 1999, when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased the international tobacco operations of the U.S. multinational R.J. Reynolds for $7.8 billion. Popular brands included Camel, Winston, and Natural American Spirit (2015).
In 2007, Gallaher Group, a FTSE 100 business, was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc. for GBP 9.4 billion. At the time, this was the largest foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.
In 2009, the JT Group acquired part of the worldwide business of Tribac Leaf Limited (a company that trades tobacco in Africa), as well as two Brazilian companies active in the tobacco business, Kannenberg and KBH&C. In the same year, the JT Group also set up JTI Leaf Services, a joint venture with two leaf suppliers in the US – Hail & Cotton Inc. and JEB International.[6]
In 2022, the company's revenue in Russia amounted to 431 billion rubles.[7] JTI partnered with Altria to sell its successful Ploom product in the U.S. market. In 2024, Japan Tobacco International was named by Top Employers Institute as a top employer in the Philippines for the third year in a row.[8] In the same year, JTI purchased Vector group for 2.4 billion U.S. Dollars. Previously, JTI operated outside of the U.S., but this purchase gave JTI roughly 10% market share and two of the most popular cigarette brands in the U.S.[9]
The three largest Canadian tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-Macdonald Corp, and Rothmans Benson & Hedges, are the subject of the largest class-action lawsuit in Canadian history. The case started 12 March 2012 in Quebec Superior Court, and the companies face a potential payout of C$27 billion (US$20.18 billion) in damages and penalties. In addition, a number of Canadian provinces are teaming up to sue tobacco companies to recover healthcare costs caused by smoking.[10]
On 1 June 2015, Québec Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan awarded more than $15 billion to Quebec smokers in a landmark case that pitted them against three Canadian cigarette giants, including JTI-Macdonald Corp.[11][12] JTI was ordered to pay 13% of the total, or C$2bn. The company stated, "JTI-Macdonald Corp. fundamentally disagrees with today’s judgment and intends to file an appeal [...] The company strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the court’s conclusions." The plaintiffs in the court case stated that even if an appeal were lodged, the companies were required to pay C$1bn within 60 days.[13]
Japan Tobacco International is a silver patron of the University of Latvia Foundation. It has supported the university since 2010 by donating to long-term projects of the University of Latvia Senior Association.[14]
