This photo taken in May 2025 shows Dassai sake, released in collaboration with Austria, on sale at the Austria Pavilion at the World Exposition in Osaka. (Kyodo)
YAMAGUCHI, Japan (Kyodo) — The brewer of popular Japanese sake Dassai recently changed its company name to match its signature label, in a move aimed at boosting global brand recognition to expand sales abroad.
“The entire globe is our market,” Dassai Inc. CEO Kazuhiro Sakurai said, with the company aiming for overseas markets to eventually account for 70 percent of total sales, up from 40 percent currently, amid a decline at home.
Before the rebranding in June, the brewer’s previous name, Asahi Shuzo Co., proved to be an obstacle in its expansion efforts abroad, often being confused with other companies.
“Asahi,” meaning “sunrise” or “morning sun” is used widely in Japanese company names, including by one of the country’s beverage giants.
While expressing regret over parting with the familiar name used by the brewer since 1948, Sakurai said he believes the change will “contribute to (the company’s) hometown.” Dassai refers to the otters seen in the region in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, where the brewer is located, according to the company’s website.
Popular for its mellow taste, Dassai sake was given as a gift to U.S. President Barack Obama by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose constituency was in the prefecture.
Domestic shipments of sake have been declining amid reduced alcohol consumption, with the 390,000 kiloliters shipped in fiscal 2023 around a fifth of the peak level five decades earlier. In contrast, shipments overseas are continuing to expand amid a global boom in Japanese cuisine.
Moving forward, Dassai is determined to increase its presence in the United States and Europe, in addition to the Asian market that has long been its main overseas sales destination.
In 2023, the company established a brewery in the state of New York to produce and sell sake locally that uses U.S.-grown sake rice, which helps to minimize the impact of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
More recently, at the World Exposition in Osaka, Dassai released a special sake brewed in collaboration with Austria that was produced with Johann Strauss II’s “Lagoon Waltz” playing during the fermentation process.
AloJapan.com