It has a deep, delicate and definitely cultural flavor. Yet sake does not appeal to many of today's Japanese, who would rather clink glasses of "shochu" liquor or wine.
Japan consumed 889,271 kiloliters worth of sake in fiscal 2002, down from 1,368,831 kl in 1992 and almost half the volume they gulped down in 1973, when consumption peaked at around 1,656,000 kl, Finance Ministry figures show.
Countless reasons have been cited for sake's sagging popularity, ranging from the longtime production of sugared and artificially flavored low-grade sake, to the recent shochu and wine booms, the latter characterized by the brisk sales of Beaujolais Nouveau, and the fading gift-giving culture.