Sake brewing licenses have, in principle, not been issued for decades due to falling demand, leaving hopeful new industry entrants with no way in other than finding a dormant brewery with a licence and acquiring the company. And although there have been a few whispers of either relaxing requirements for sake licenses or starting to issue new ones, the question has now been raised by one of the national newspapers.
The Yomiuri claims that the Japanese government is looking into relaxing regulations around sake brewing to allow more companies and people to enter the field, with the National Strategic Special Zone Working Group (国家戦略特区ワーキンググループ) preparing to gather opinions from relevant parties with a view to considering a new system and looking into how deregulation would affect the industry.
If the law is changed, it would follow on from the revision of the Liquor Tax Act in 2020 to grant sake brewing licenses where the product is only sold overseas, and mirror the deregulation of beer brewing in 1994 to allow for small-scale “craft” production.
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海外でのＳＡＫＥ人気が追い風に…原則新規発行されない「日本酒製造免許」、規制緩和を政府検討 (Yomiuri Shimbun, 26 May 2025)
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