This study analyzes the impact of the unprecedented surge in rice prices on the Japanese sake brewing industry and the extent to which breweries have been able to pass increased costs through to product prices. Based on a survey of 115 sake breweries nationwide, we find that raw rice prices rose by an average of 95.3% between 2023 and 2025, while approximately 30% of respondents were unable to raise product prices sufficiently to cover this increase. In addition, a production-volume weighted analysis reveals that approximately 50% of sake in the market is produced by breweries with insufficient price pass-through, indicating a structural issue. Applying price elasticity estimates from prior research, we simulate the effects of a 21.7% cumulative price increase across product categories. The results reveal a structural "price-hike trap" for lower-priced products such as futsushu (ordinary sake), where a price increase leads to a 41.1% decline in sales volume and a 38.5-percentage-point decline in gross profit relative to baseline sales. In contrast, premium categories such as junmai daiginjo maintain revenue growth in monetary terms despite volume declines. The study also identifies institutional challenges, including risk-laden procurement contracts and regional disparities in government support. Building on these findings, we discuss policy implications including the need for portfolio restructuring toward higher-value products, unified national support frameworks, and modernization of trading practices.

This paper documents a symposium on the creation of semantic value in the Japanese sake market. Amid the long-term decline in domestic shipment volumes and the widespread improvement in brewing technology, an era has emerged in which differentiation based solely on functional value is no longer viable. Three key stakeholders—producers, retailers, and buyers—presented their respective practices. The producer discussed the creation of craft sake and regional revitalization through a circular economy; the retailer addressed the development of a new sake vessel, the shuwan, designed to optimally capture the distinctive aromatic and flavor profile of sake, thereby building a new tasting infrastructure; and the buyer examined a hospitality approach that translates semantic value in just ten seconds, along with the pursuit of vertical integration. In the panel discussion, the participants rejected superficial marketing tactics and affirmed the importance of a tripartite approach: educating consumers on cultural essence, relentlessly pursuing product quality, and curating the ideal first glass of sake.

The Noto Peninsula Earthquake of January 2024 caused severe damage to many sake breweries in the region. In response, a collaborative movement titled “Don’t Let Noto Sake Stop” emerged, leading to joint brewing initiatives both within Ishikawa Prefecture and across Japan. This paper documents the seminar that brought together affected brewers, supporting breweries, industry representatives, and an expert in urban and community planning, and examines the structure and implications of these practices.

The case demonstrates that joint brewing functioned not merely as a substitute for disrupted production, but as a practice that sustained circulation, generated cash flow, and enabled the sharing and recombination of brewing knowledge across breweries. In this sense, it represents a form of “creative recovery” that goes beyond restoration toward the reconfiguration of value.

Furthermore, these initiatives were supported by multilayered, cross-regional networks that extended beyond institutional frameworks and were grounded in pre-existing relationships of trust and collaboration. This suggests that resilience in sake brewing culture is not simply the capacity to recover, but a relational and dynamic process that is cultivated through ongoing interactions in normal times.

By examining the Noto case, this paper offers insights into how cultural practices can be sustained and transformed under conditions of disaster and demographic decline, and provides a perspective for rethinking resilience in local industries.