Sake market in Japan - statistics & facts
Sake has not only symbolic importance as the national beverage in Japan, but is also popularly associated with Japanese food culture in overseas markets. The government has been protecting the traditionally important industry by restricting approvals for new brewing licenses, which are essential for becoming a manufacturer. This is to prevent price wars caused by an influx of new businesses in a time of declining sake consumption. While fermented rice wine is still the main product line of almost half of licensed liquor manufacturing sites in Japan, the industry is struggling to keep businesses running.
