Tag - alcohol

 
 

ALCOHOL

Employees of Takahashi Shouten working on the trial production of sake in New Delhi on Nov. 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024
Japanese sake brewery to make foray into Indian market
Takahashi Shouten, based in the city of Yame in Fukuoka Prefecture, launched a subsidiary in India in February.
Despite ongoing struggles, 2024 had plenty of bright spots for Japan's sake industry.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 15, 2024
Glass half full: Japan’s sake industry celebrates a brighter 2024
Despite a general decline in consumption, new openings and greater awareness gave Japan’s sake lovers reason to cheers this year.
A restaurant owner waits for customers at her empty restaurant in Seoul on Oct. 31.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 11, 2024
South Korea's fading nightlife signals shift in hard-drinking culture
The change has been driven by corporate Korea's slowdown on after-work drinking sessions, younger female workers' refusal to partake and inflation.
Dining habits have changed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with alcohol consumption experiencing a drop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2024
Hundreds of izakaya going bust as prices rise and customers change
In the first 11 months of this year, 203 of these establishments went out of business, more than the entire year of 2020 when COVID-19 became a pandemic.
People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 6, 2024
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?
Japan’s suspect remedies make up 20% of the world’s market for hangover cures, but their success lies more in marketing than science.
Critics have said that drivers who were speeding well over the speed limit or those who were extremely drunk were not indicted for dangerous driving because of its vague definition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2024
What constitutes fatal dangerous driving in Japan?
Critics say its vague definition has often led prosecutors to indict offenders with less-serious charges of fatal negligent driving instead.
Sake bottles are displayed at the 19th World Cultural Heritage Conference, as sake was added to UNESCO'S Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 5, 2024
Japanese sake brewing added to UNESCO intangible heritage list
Traditional sake brewing marks the 23rd Japanese entry on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, joining other culturally significant arts such as washoku and kabuki.
Two glasses of alcohol-free wine are pictured in a bar in Frankfurt on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024
German family winery taps into zero-alcohol trend
The company produces about 17 million bottles of alcohol-free wine a year, with sales up by around 35% annually.
A screenshot of a health ministry website that allows people to easily calculate the amount of time it takes for their body to break down the alcohol they have consumed
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 18, 2024
Japan ministry launches website to estimate alcohol breakdown time
The “Alcohol Watch” website allows people to enter the type and amount of drinks they consumed to calculate how long it will take for the alcohol to break down.
Staff work at a sake brewery in Fukushima Prefecture in October. Sake, a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage made from grains and water, holds deep cultural significance in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024
UNESCO panel recommends sake brewing for intangible cultural heritage list
A UNESCO intergovernmental committee meeting in December is expected to make a final decision on its inclusion in the Representative List.
Rare bottles of Suntory’s Hibiki 100th anniversary whisky can only be purchased duty-free in-flight on ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines are highly sought-after items among whiskey aficionados.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2024
Rare whisky on sale duty free for first-class fliers in Japan
The rare bottles are highly sought-after items among whiskey aficionados and often sell for a lot more in liquor shops and online stores.
Asahi Breweries' Sumadori Bar Shibuya specializes in low-alcohol drinks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2024
Japanese beverage makers see business opportunity in low-alcohol drinks
Amid increasing concern about the health impact of high alcohol consumption, beverage makers are developing low-alcohol products.
Cider in Japan doesn't have as long a history as other alcoholic beverages, but with consumer preferences shifting, it might be just the easy sip for drinkers sick of stiff tipples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 13, 2024
As Japan shuns stiff drinks, cider aims for a bigger share of the market
Sake brewer Isamu Yoshii was the first person in Japan to produce cider as an alcoholic drink in 1954, paving the way for a possible cider boom in the future.
At France's Kura Master competition, top honors went to "Shirayuki Daiginjo Itami Morohaku" (left) and "Araroka Matsufuji."
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 3, 2024
Award ceremony for Japanese alcohol held in Paris
1,223 sake products and 197 shōchū and awamori products were put up for the competition.
Suntory alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2024
Suntory to raise monthly wages by 7% in 2025
Suntory will carry out a 7% raise for the third straight year.
The percentage of alcohol-related accidents involving electric scooters was far higher than that for accidents involving bicycles and mopeds.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024
17% of kick scooter accidents caused by drunken drivers
Some 70% of the drink-driving accidents took place between midnight and before 6 a.m.
Liquor store P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants owner Louise Dowling
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Cash-strapped consumers are giving Australia's liquor makers a headache
Australia's alcohol industry is in its sharpest downturn in memory as more people cut back on discretionary spending and turn to healthier ways to relax.
Kirin Holdings President Takeshi Minakata at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024
Kirin clinched Fancl takeover to propel health pivot, president says
Fancl fits into a health science portfolio that Kirin aims to grow into a new pillar of the group.
Suntory's canned cocktail Minus 196 Double Lemon on sale at a store in Sydney
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024
Japan's Suntory bets on spirits expertise to boost U.S. canned cocktail market share
Suntory believes its annual RTD revenue could double from current levels to about $3 billion (¥434 billion) by 2030.
A meeting of the Lao-Lao liquor cooperative held in the village of Xai in Attapeu Province in June.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2024
Co-op Okinawa nurtures Laos farmers' cooperatives to encourage growth
By setting up cooperatives, farmers can prevent unfavorable price negotiations by sharing information with one another.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition