Some of the nation's major breweries have started producing nonalcoholic beer in the hope of boosting a fledgling market helped by heightened health consciousness and steeper penalties for drunken driving.
Currently, the market for nonalcoholic beer constitutes only a little over one-thousandth of the market for beer and "happoshu," its low-malt cousin, combined. And until recently, nonalcoholic beer in Japan was mostly limited to imports.
Under the Liquor Tax Law, nonalcoholic drinks are those containing less than 1 percent alcohol. The law requires beverages containing 1 percent or more to be labeled as liquor.