Nihon Ken Numbers in the UK for 2021

As the year comes to a close and we look back on the year behind us, it’s important for us Nihon Ken enthusiasts to review what we’ve done this year, and for 2021, it has been a good year for the four medium breeds.

Known 2021 Imports
Kai Ken - 1 (Total dogs: 2)
Hokkaido Ken - 2 (Total dogs: 8)
Kishu Ken - 1 (Total dogs: 3)
Shikoku Ken - 3 (Total dogs: 17)

While this may be a tiny increase in the medium breeds, the fact that there has been at least one new import for all four medium breeds is a great improvement on previous years. This also does not account for possible individuals that have been imported this year or previously that have not been found and counted in the Association of Nihon Ken’s population count.
Kennel Club Registrations:
Japanese Akita Inu - 90
Japanese Shiba Inu  - 497

With fresh imports on their way next year, as well as litters planned, with any luck we’ll have an even greater increase in numbers for 2022, which will be a huge step in the right direction for these breeds.
The current data held by the club was obtained through research and communication with owners and breeders, as well as information from the pedigree databases for the breeds. We would like to fill in the gaps on any missing dogs and data, with the consent of the owner. If you would like to help the Association of Nihon Ken by sharing your dog's data with us, please fill in the form here.