Japan earmarks 1.8 bil. yen to boost promotion of sake

Japan has earmarked a combined 1.78 billion yen ($16 million) in the state budget for boosting promotion of sake and other Japan-made alcoholic beverages abroad, especially when the country hosts the Olympics and Paralympics this year.The total -- of which 1.31 billion yen is in the budget for fiscal 2020 starting in April and the remainder in the supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to March -- is seven times larger than similar spending in the initial 2019 budget.As part of such efforts, the government is preparing to set up an office at the National Tax Agency in July to bett…READ FULL ARTICLE