A 61-year-old rice retailer claimed in court June 16 that his sales of "doburoku" unrefined sake are not in violation of the Liquor Tax Law, which bans the unlicensed production of alcoholic drinks.

In the first hearing of his trial before the Tokyo District Court, Isonobu Kawasaki pleaded innocent, saying, "What the prosecutors say is all nonsense." Kawasaki, who lives in Toyama Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, has long defied Japan's rigid farming policy by openly engaging in illegal but widespread sales of rice through unofficial channels. Sake is made from rice.

He argues that because doburoku is a traditional beverage of farmers and is made for their consumption, it should not be controlled by the Liquor Tax Law. The trial that began June 16 is the second in Kawasaki's continuing battle with authorities. In 1993, he was indicted for violating the Liquor Tax Law and the now-defunct Staple Food Control Law by selling 11 liters of doburoku and 1,800 tons of rice through unofficial channels.