JAPAN is facing a butter shortage and it’s udderly serious.

According to the Global Post, Japanese bakers whipping up traditional Christmas sponge cakes had no choice but to substitute the elusive butter with … *shudder* … margarine.

Apparently, while butter isn’t prolifically used in Japanese cuisine, it’s vital in December because of those spongy creations.

The butter shortage has become such an issue supermarkets are placing limits on shoppers — one pack per person, thank you very much.

So what’s behind this buttery deficit?

As with many things, climate change is a factor. The northern island of Hokkaido, a major dairy area, had a stinking hot summer that, apparently, left cows too tired to make their milk quotas. Yes, this is really a thing.

Another is that there are less dairy farmers than in the past — Japan faces a shrinking and ageing population. So there is less dairy production. The Global Post wrote that there are 1.4 million dairy cows now, compared to 2.11 million in 1985.

Foreseeing this fall in butter availability, the government ordered producers to boost production by 30 per cent and imported 10,000 tonnes of butter over the year. But it still wasn’t enough.