The opening ceremony at Narita International Airport.
(From left) Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) Senior Vice President, Tokuhisa Takano; NAA President and CEO, Makoto Natsume; Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) Chairman, Shigeyuki Shinohara; and JSS General Manager, Masayoshi Miura.
Speaking from the campaign booth at the October 1 opening ceremony in Narita International Airport's Terminal 1, JSS Chairman, Shigeyuki Shinohara, proclaimed, "We will work together on this nation-wide campaign to share the wonderful taste of Japanese sake and shochu with people from across the globe." In his follow-up address, Narita International Airport Corporation President and CEO, Makoto Natsume, noted "I'm proud that Narita International Airport was chosen as the venue for this campaign. I hope many people will get to experience the wonderful world of Japanese sake and spread the word about it when they return to their home countries."
After breaking open the sake barrel, the contents were shared with international visitors who happened to be passing through. It was sheer serendipity served up in a small wooden cup imprinted with the words "Kampai to the world. Sake & Shochu.“
JSS Chairman,
S. Shinohara
NAA President
and CEO,
M. Natsume
At the September 24 JSS' press conference announcing the campaign's launch, JSS Vice Chairman, Yoshiro Okamoto (photo left), noted enthusiastically that "This campaign is an industry first and will help pave the way toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics." (Photographed on his right is JSS Director, Yukio Hamada, who provided a brief outline of the campaign.)
Comments of tourists from East and West who got to taste the sake included "Is it made from rice? It's so smooth," and "It must taste really good when you are tired.“
