Global round of Miss Sake Japan 2020 pageant postponed to July end, courtesy COVID-19 outbreak

NEW DELHI: The Coronavirus outbreak in Japan has taken its toll not only on the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics 2020, which were postponed for next year; it also forced the global round of Miss Sake Japan 2020 contest to defer to the end of July.

Scheduled for March 20, the Miss Sake Japan contest was to be represented by Miss Sake winners from India, Vietnam, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai besides Japan.

Interestingly, the scare of COVID-19 outbreak in China did not deter the organizers in Shanghai from organizing Miss Sake Shanghai contest on March 8, and it happed as per its schedule in the absence of the officials of the parent organization Miss Sake Association, Japan.

Miss Sake pageant aims at promoting Japanese traditional rice wine Sake and Japanese culture worldwide. Miss Sake winners from each region become ambassadors of sake and Japnese culture.

“We switched the date of the final competition of 2020 Miss SAKE Japan from March to July because of coronavirus (outbreak). It’s really severe time, but we have not given up on this ambassador program,” Mika Onishi, Director, Miss Sake Association, told Asian Community News (ACN) Network from Tokyo.

When asked about Miss Sake Shanghai 2020, which was scheduled to happen on March 8, she said Shanghai event was organized as per the earlier plan, and it was Miss Sake Japan competition only, which was postponed to July.

Had the Miss Sake Japan 2020 event happened on time, the winner from the participating countries would have won the prize money of 3 million Japanese Yen besides other benefits.

India’s  Upasna Gurung, the 26-year-old girl from Nagaland who was selected first-ever Miss Sake India 2020 pageant in February last, was supposed to represent India and participate in the finale in Japan.

In February, India, for the first time, had hosted Miss Sake India 2020 event in New Delhi, where the Miss Sake Japan 2019 Sae Haruta crowned the Indian Sake queen.

Also read: After Sushi, Japanese rice wine Sake set to make a splash in India, and tickle your taste buds

There are about 1800 sake breweries in Japan, but the domestic demand for sake has experienced a downward trend in Japan in the last few years, and the Japan government and sake breweries are striving hard to promote sake as healthy and traditional rice wine in overseas markets.

For this, countries like India, USA, and China are the two big potential markets forsake.

Though Japan has made inroads into the Chinese markets and is exporting sake in reasonable volumes, it is yet to make its presence felt in India where the purpose is relatively lesser known a beverage.

It is because of this bleak scenario, the Miss Sake Association and Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association launched its first Miss Sake India 2020 pageant in February.

“Sake is a healthy alcoholic beverage, and India is a big market for us, and we want to promote it amongst the people here,” had said Mika Eoka of Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association on this occasion.

Also read: Nagaland girl is first Miss Sake India 2020

In February only, the Japanese Embassy hosted ‘An Evening with Japanese Food 2020’, where it invited Indian guests to serve Japanese food and alcoholic beverages, including sake, gin, and whiskey.

Earlier in October last year, eleven Sake breweries, brewers, and exporters from Japan accompanied the Miss Sake Japan 2019 Sae Haruta to promote Sake amongst Indian foodies as well as hoteliers. This event, too, was held at the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi.

They served different assortments of Sake, such as sparkling, Umeshu (plum sake), Ko-chu (aged Sake), and Ginjo, along with a variety of Japanese cuisines.

In 2016, Miss Sake Association Japan had held its first international Sake pageant in New York but discontinued it for reasons unknown.

According to Mika Onishi, Director, Miss Sake Association this event will be launched again in the USA and soon in France too.