Exports of sake ... in central Tokyo, hoping to pick up medals in the country's biggest sake competition. And in amongst the usual candidates were some new faces. Alongside the Japanese producers ...

OKAYA, Nagano Prefecture--Not long after dawn, Japanese sake brewer Mie Takahashi checks ... She pursued a degree in fermentation science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture.

Akiko Katayama covers Japanese food and culture ... of the JSS Information Center in Tokyo, which is the marketing arm of JSS. Every year he tastes the sake that have won top prizes at the ...