A committee of UNESCO has decided to register Japan's traditional knowledge and skills for making sake and other alcoholic ...

Awamori, a spirit unique to Okinawa ... The spirit’s origins go back to the Thai drink lao khao, with distillation techniques arriving in Okinawa from Thailand during the 15th century.

The alcohol tax rate for awamori is 35 percent lower in Okinawa than the levies applied in mainland Japan, while the rate for beer and other alcoholic drinks is 20 percent lower in the prefecture.