The Japanese honey bee is called Apis cerana japonica that is a subspecies of the eastern honey bee. They are found throughout Japan except for Hokkaido and Okinawa and they live in the mountains and in cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Historically honey was solely collected from Japanese honey bees for about 1400 years. However, in 1877 commercial beekeepers changed to the Western honey bee due to the higher honey production. In recent times Western honey produce the majority of honey in Japan. Fortunately the movement of preserving the Japanese honey bee has not diminished in part due to media coverage and biodiversity. The Japanese type are more docile nature, resistance to infectious diseases and cold weather, and have the ability to defend themselves against the Japanese hornet.

https://www.japan-natural-beekeeping.org/post/japanese-honeybee