a day ago
Okinawa city seeks special zone status for production of local distilled spirit
The city of Nanjo in Okinawa Prefecture decided on Tuesday to submit an application for special zone status to produce awamori, a type of shōchū liquor.
The city plans to send the application jointly with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to the central government.
Since the special zone designation system for shōchū production was introduced in 2017, five municipalities have been designated, including the village of Mishima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Nanjo would be the sixth such zone and the first for awamori production.
If designated, small businesses in the city would be able to produce awamori, using locally grown rice, while being exempt from the legal requirement of producing at least 10 kiloliters, or some 14,000 720-milliliter bottles, annually.
Currently, most awamori is made from rice from Thailand. Nanjo, said to be the place where rice production in Okinawa started, hopes to make awamori from locally grown rice.
A Nanjo official expressed hope that a special zone designation would give a boost to the city.
In Nanjo, a plan to launch a new awamori maker is under discussion. "We want to deliver to consumers awamori made in the birthplace of rice production in Okinawa using only locally grown rice," a person involved in the plan said.
