Abstract

"I want to revitalize the region with a sake brewery"--a former Nomura Securities employee's challenge to create a new regional revitalization project in a depopulated town in Hokkaido.

● The "Creating the Ultimate Town" series, which depicts towns that are taking on the challenge of "one of a kind" regional revitalization, is now inaugurated.
● The first in the series is the founding story of Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery, a miraculous sake brewery newly established in 2017 by a former securities employee.
● It reveals the secrets behind the establishment of sake breweries in Kamikawa Town, Obihiro City, and Hakodate City in just five years since its founding in 2017.

In Kamikawa Town, a town in Hokkaido with a population of 3,000, there is a sake brewery that is attracting attention. It is Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery. In 2017, a former Nomura Securities employee relocated a sake brewery in Mie Prefecture and created what is essentially a new sake brewery. The industry was in an uproar for "breaking convention," but the sake, which uses 100% Hokkaido-grown sake rice, has gained a reputation for being clear and easy to drink. This was made possible by the cooperation of the residents of Kamikawa Town, and the brewery has also brought the effect of attracting tourists and economic benefits to the town. Furthermore, by collaborating with educational institutions such as Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and Hakodate National College of Technology, they successively established sake breweries in towns where sake breweries had long been absent. This book tells the miraculous story of how sake breweries have brought about revitalization in agriculture, education, and industry.

Author’s Information

Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1965. Graduated from Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Social Sciences. Joined Kyodo News in 1990. After working at the Gifu and Nagoya bureaus, he joined the Social Affairs Department at the head office in 1997, where he was in charge of covering prosecutors and investigative reporting. He has been involved in covering regional revitalization in the Special Reporting Room and other departments, and currently serves as the head of the Research Department. His publications include "People Who Eat Medicinal Herbs" (Sekaibunkasha). Co-authored works include "Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department" (Kodansha). He has contributed articles on population decline and the issue of foreign talent to "Bungei Shunju" and assisted in the editing of "The Complete Work Techniques of Astronaut Soichi Noguchi" (Sekaibunkasha).