A two-day national tea summit opened Thursday in Shizuoka Prefecture, the nation's prime tea-growing region, in a bid to promote the brew.
The conference, which has brought together 82 mayors from 17 tea-growing prefectures and 1,200 growers and traders, is aimed at expanding tea consumption and promoting the culture of tea.
Many young Japanese have shunned the nation's traditional beverage in favor of soft drinks.
In the morning session, the mayors adopted a declaration encouraging the nation's tea growers to "produce high-quality tea that can be drunk safely."
Apart from the summit, Shizuoka will also host a world tea festival starting today.
Next year's tea summit will be held in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, another well-known tea-growing region in Japan.