In spite of a 2,000-year-old tradition, sake is declining in popularity in Japan. Consumers there are opting for wine, beer and cocktails -- Western drinks -- at home, at bars and at restaurants, causing a 10 percent drop in sake's alcohol market share in the last year alone and an almost 50 percent drop in total sales in the last decade. The home sales are particularly flagging, something attributed to the increasing popularity of Western cuisines and the desire of cooks to match them with appropriate drinks. This trend works in reverse in countries where Japanese cuisine is still seen as hip and trendy, like in the US.
To renew interest, brewers are turning more and more toward premium sakes and cutting-edge ad campaigns, not unlike the ones commonly seen for beer or luxury spirits, to attract younger drinkers to their products. They don't want the trendsetters of the nation to see sake as "what grandma and grandpa drink" or as "what your boss forces you to drink in a smoky pub in a sticky glass." In pursuit of hipness, they are also touting the drink as being low in calories and a good stress reliever.
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