Taiwan to cut tariffs on sake and Japan farm and fishery products as it looks to join TPP
Taiwan is set to lower its tariffs on sake from Japan to 20 percent, from the current 40 percent, as early as August. Taiwan will also cut its tariffs on such Japanese farm and fishery products as frozen shishamo smelt, scallop and yams, and processed ...
Public and private sectors push to revive Okinawa's struggling awamori industry
With young people apparently finding Okinawa's awamori liquor less appealing, the industry has been hit with a decline in shipments for 13 consecutive years. To rev up the struggling business, people from the public and private sectors have joined hands to pitch the distilled spirit ...
Students develop fertilizer from shōchū distillation remnants
Students in Kumamoto Prefecture have developed a low-cost method to cultivate photosynthetic bacteria for use as fertilizer using the distillation remnants of shōchū, a traditional Japanese liquor. The student researchers, led by Aoi Koga, 24, from Sojo University's Graduate School of Engineering in the city ...
OnJapan Cafe&: Reimagining the fermenting tradition
Shibuya's Kamiyamacho district continues to bubble up with worthy new dining venues. One of the most intriguing new arrivals on its increasingly popular shopping street — the long, straight artery connecting Tokyu Department Store with Yoyogi-Koen — is OnJapan Cafe&. The mission statement at this ...
Kyushu distillers seek to build overseas fan base for shōchū
Spirits makers in Kyushu are working to attract overseas customers for their flagship product of distilled liquor called shōchū. Shōchū, typically distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, rice, buckwheat or sugar cane, is very popular in Japan but not nearly as well-known abroad as sake, which ...
Former Oita Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu of 'one village, one product' fame dead at 92
Former Oita Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu, known for his "one village, one product" regional development campaign, died Sunday, sources said Tuesday. He was 92. Hiramatsu was governor of Oita Prefecture for 24 years until 2003. His "one village, one product" movement was initiated for Oita but ...
Distilling the mysteries of shōchū
From my seat on the second floor of Shochu Zanmai, a bar specializing in Japan's indigenous distilled liquor, I can see directly into the building across the street. The bar is located down a narrow alley a 10-minute walk from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station, and ...
Japan to boost protection of names of liquor-producing regions
The government said Wednesday it will expand the scope of the system to protect producing-area names of liquors as intellectual properties to enhance their brand power amid growing global demand for Japanese sake and shochu distilled spirits, sources said. Japanese beer and liqueur, including umeshu, ...
Aji no Nakamura: Comforting food and sake with ambience to match
Twenty years have passed since Teiji Nakamura announced himself to Tokyo with his first bar and, shortly thereafter, his eponymous upscale izakaya tavern — and five since he moved that distinctive, appealing combination of quality cooking, premium sake and buzzy ambience to Namikibashi, in ...
Nine makers of "shochu" distilled liquor in Kagoshima Prefecture are pitching their products to a wider range of consumers in Asia, with their focus on the international liquor fair now under way in Hong Kong. Tensei Shuzo, which has already been marketing its shochu in ...
Shōchū and the art of conflict resolution: an islander's insight
If you don't drink shochu, you're bound to have problems adjusting to island life. It's like moving to Okinawa and not partaking in awamori: It's a part of the local culture.
Trends in Japan 2010: food and drink
2010 was a year for spicy and cooling foods, ramen and mochi for breakfast, Ryoma-branded everything and dining on the cheap.
