Sake News from Japan / Sake Muse
Sake breweries contribute by increasing alcohol content
Ritsuko Kiyomizu reports for Reuters Japan on long-established sake breweries starting to make high-strength alcohol suitable for use as steriliser. Official advice to use alcohol-based hand steriliser, and increased use of sterilising products in general during the...
A new sake rice from the land of happy
Chizuru Kiyokane reports for the Chunichi Web site on 17 brewers simultaneously releasing freshly brewed shinshu made with the new Fukui Prefecture sake-specific rice Sakahomare (さかほまれ), which went on sale nationwide on 19 April. All are daiginjō made with rice, yeast...
From Yamagata – coronavirus starts to hit sake producers
Reporting for the Mainichi Shimbun, Satoru Matono points out that as COVID-19 continues to spread, Yamagata Prefecture is feeling its effects on one of its speciality products – sake. Labels popular abroad with strong exports are being hit as consumption declines...
A new style of sake low in alcohol but big on taste
The Mainichi Shimbun reports on an announcement on 8 April 2020 by the Koto no Osake de Kanpai shiyō Jikkō Iinkai [古都のお酒で乾杯しよう実行委員会, Committee for the Implementation of Kanpai with Sake from the Old Capital. No, seriously, Japan seems to love organisation names like...
Brewing with the best of the best
The Kobe Shimbun NEXT site reports that Asahi Shuzō (Yamaguchi), makers of Dassai, are brewing a limited edition junmai daiginjō made with 100% Yamada Nishiki harvested in the Fujita area of Katō City in Hyogo Prefecture, to be called Dassai Fujita when it ships this...
Tall tales of ’60s sake sales
Oita Press carries a two-part interview with former president and chairperson of Sanwa Shurui, former head of the prefectural Board of Education, former head of Tourism Oita and winner of the Oita Gōtō Newspaper Cultural Award, Taichirō Nishi (82). Sanwa Shuzō...
Celebrating a new sake GI for Harima
Jiji.com reports on a ceremony held in the city of Himeji on 6 April 2020 to commemorate the Japanese government’s grant of a protective Geographical Indication (GI) to the sake produced in the Harima area of Hyogo Prefecture. Hideyasu Kiyomoto, mayor of Himeji,...
Ginjōka – healing properties or just vapour?
Jiji.com carries a press release for a new sub-site operated by mega-brewery Gekkeikan, focusing on the supposed comforts of ginjō aroma. The Japanese concept of iyashi (癒し) is a slippery one to translate. It's often rendered as "healing" but can be closer to...
Hiroshima sake cozies up with Burgundy wine
The Sankei News reports on an attempt by Hiroshima sake brewers to strengthen their branding and expand retail channels overseas - by teaming up with the French wine region of Burgundy. Hiroshima Prefecture signed a basic agreement for mutual cooperation with...
Want Japanese sake news and information delivered straight to your inbox?
Sign up for Sake Muse!
The translations/summaries of Japanese language news articles or other resources, personal commentary and other content provided on this site or through its associated newsletter are part of a personal project to increase the amount of information about Japanese sake and related fields available in English.
Coverage of an organisation, product, process, event, etc. on this site or in the associated newsletter does not in any way imply approval or endorsement.
After signing up, please look out for a confirmation email and confirm your subscription to start receiving the newsletter. It usually goes out every 2 weeks or so, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
All translations/summaries and other content are © 2017-2026 Arline Lyons.