(Yicai) June 5 -- Nearly 110 Japanese liquor companies will showcase over 1,000 varieties of beverages, including sake, shochu, umeshu, whiskies, and beer during the Japan Sake Month in Shanghai this month.

China and Japan kicked off the one-month event recently to promote the Japanese drinking culture in the eastern metropolis, Yicai learned.

The Japan Sake Month marks the first time for China to host a large-scale offline event to highlight Japan-made alcoholic beverages, Kenji Mizuta, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organization in Shanghai, said during the recent opening ceremony.

The event could become a benchmark for the promotion of Japan-made drinks in China to facilitate consumption in Shanghai and the surrounding regions while deepening communication between China and Japan regarding the culture of drinking, per Mizuta.

The event will target professional buyers via a Japanese sake summit but also consumers by organizing shop tours and tasting events. Moreover, 25 eateries and bars will offer set meals to appreciate Japanese sake, Yuki Motomiya, head of the agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and food division at the local office of the JETRO, said to Yicai.

Motomiya said that some local governments of Japan, including those of Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Okinawa, will also have promotional events in Shanghai to recommend their regional specialties and the related culture.

This year, the JETRO will strive to expand local sales channels to reach more consumers while selling Japanese drinks in more Chinese and Western restaurants, Motomiya said, adding that Japanese alcoholic beverages can be a perfect match with Shanghainese and Cantonese dishes. Besides the biggest Chinese cities, Japanese sake companies also wish to gain a foothold in some second-tier cities, he added.

China has become the largest export destination of Japanese sake, Motomiya said. But Japanese rice wine is just entering local restaurants so producers are expected to keep pushing as they have great potential to win market share, he concluded.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine