Japan's sake brewers hope UNESCO heritage listing can boost rice wine's appeal

OME, Japan (AP) — Deep in a dark warehouse the sake sleeps, stored in rows of giant tanks, each holding more than 10,000 liters (2,640 gallons) of the Japanese rice wine that is the product of brewing techniques dating back more than 1,000 years.

Junichiro Ozawa, the 18th-generation head of Ozawa Brewery, founded in 1702, hopes sake-brewing will win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, when the decision is made next month.

“We always think about the people who’re enjoying our sake when we make it. I’m now so excited, imagining the faces of all the people around the world,” he told reporters Wednesday during a tour of his brewery on the pastoral outskirts of Tokyo.

Sake, the drink of choice for the nobility in “The Tale of Genji” — Japan's most celebrated work of literature — has been widening its appeal, boosted by the growing international popularity of Japanese cuisine.

Sake exports from Japan total more than 41 billion yen ($265 million) a year, with the biggest destinations being the U.S. and China, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

That’s up from about 22 billion yen in 2018. But exports still make up a tiny fraction of overall sake production in Japan. Brazil, Mexico and Southeast Asia, as well as France and the rest of Europe, all places where Japanese restaurants are gaining popularity, are starting to take a liking to sake.

What’s key to sake-making, which takes about two months, including fermentation and pressing, are the rice and the water.

For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese. The relatively soft quality of freshwater in Japan, like the supplies provided by the two wells at Ozawa Brewery, is also critical.

Among Ozawa’s sake is the full-bodied aromatic Junmai Daiginjo, one of the top offerings, with 15% alcohol content and costing about 3,630 yen ($23) for a 720 milliliter bottle.

Karakuti Nigorizake is unrefined sake, murky and not clear like usual sake, with 17% alcohol content and a rugged no-nonsense taste. It sells for 2,420 yen ($16) for a 1,800 milliliter bottle.

The religious connotations of sake are evident at the brewery. The big cedar-leaves ball hanging under the eaves is a symbol of a shrine for the god of sake-making. In Japan, sake is used to purify and to celebrate. Sips from a cup signify the sealing of a marriage.

“Sake is not just an alcoholic beverage. It is Japanese culture itself,” said Hitoshi Utsunomiya, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation is given to not just historical monuments but also practices passed down generations, such as oral traditions, performing arts, rituals and festivals.

It’s not meant to be used for commercial purposes. But sake officials make no secret of their hope that it will boost global sales, helping the tradition stay alive amid competition from beer, wine and other modern beverages.

Among previous Intangible Cultural Heritage inclusions are Kabuki theater and Gagaku court music from Japan, as well as Sona, which are drawings on sand in Angola; the Chinese zither called guqin and Cremonese violin craftsmanship from Italy. Washoku, or Japanese cuisine, won the honors in 2013.

One reason for sake’s growing popularity around the world is that its smooth flavor goes well with varieties of food, including sushi, spicy Asian and Western dishes, says Max Del Vita, a certified sake sommelier and co-founder of The Sake Company, an import and distribution retailer in Singapore.

“These brewers are cultural stewards, passing down techniques through generations and blending ancient practices with quiet innovation,” he told The Associated Press. “Sake is more than a drink. It is a living embodiment of Japan’s seasonal rhythms, community values and artistic heritage.”

Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama

Bottles of Sawanoi, a Japanese sake brand by Ozawa Sake Brewery, are prepared for tasting at a room during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Traditional containers to keep Japanese sake are placed for decorations at a room shown during a media tour at the Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Bottles of Sawanoi, a Japanese sake brand by Ozawa Sake Brewery, are prepared for tasting at a room during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A sign for the brewery of "Sawanoi," a Japanese sake brand, is seen at the entrance of Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Hitoshi Utsunomiya, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, speaks during a media tour at Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Nami Goto, managing director of Research and Development for the Brewing Society of Japan, speaks during a media tour at Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Visitors of Ozawa Sake Brewery leave as journalists enter the brewery on a media tour in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, speaks during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

An interpreter, left, translates for Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, third left, and his worker (in white) as Hitoshi Utsunomiya, far right, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, stands during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A worker for Ozawa Sake Brewery opens a lid of a tank to show sake being fermented during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, speaks during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's government says it will not help about 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining.

The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground.

It is part of the police's Vala Umgodi, or Close the Hole, operation, which includes cutting off miners' supplies to force them to return to the surface and be arrested.

In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in North West province, with many reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.

About 20 miners have surfaced from the mineshaft in Stilfontein this week as police guard areas around the mine to catch all those appearing from underground.

Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners because they are involved in a criminal act.

“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there," Ntshavheni said.

Illegal mining remains common in South Africa's old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.

The illegal miners are often from neighboring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.

Their presence in closed mines have also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.

Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.

Police patrol at a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)

Relatives of miners and community members wait at a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)

An aerial view of a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)