One way of using Fukushima organic rice

July 22, 2014

Fukushima rice finds a home in Kumamoto shochu

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201407220006 

By MIKA OMURA/ Senior Staff Writer

The owner of a ramen shop in central Kyushu believes he has just the right elixir for those who are shunning produce grown in southern Tohoku as a result of the nuclear disaster there: Kumamoto shochu made with Fukushima rice.

Kyosuke Yoshimura, owner of the shop in Kumamoto city, has set up a nonprofit organization to coordinate the project of brewing shochu spirits made from organically grown rice from the faraway, disaster-hit region that was finding few customers due to the stigma of the nuclear accident.

Yoshimura’s interest in Fukushima rice goes back to January 2012 after he purchased organic grain grown on the Watanabe farm in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture. He had read a newspaper article about the difficulties the farm faced in the aftermath of the accident that unfolded at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant the year before, even though it was located about 100 kilometers from the stricken facility.

The rice was different from any Yoshimura had eaten before.

"It is such a waste that rice like this cannot sell," he thought at the time.

He tried various efforts to generate interest in the rice, such as purchasing it directly from Fukushima and selling it in Kumamoto or offering it along with curry at his restaurant. However, those efforts only consumed a small amount of rice.

That was when Yoshimura came up with the idea of using the rice to brew shochu, which is popular locally

.

Last year, he set up the nonprofit Carrot Kumamoto with a friend to provide assistance to the Tohoku region.

After a ton of rice was purchased, in November 2013, the brewer Yamatoichi Shuzomoto in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, began making the shochu for the NPO. Hot spring water was used to produce a shochu with a sweet, mild taste.

"It came out very clean because the high-quality rice had few impurities," said Fumihito Shimoda, the president of Yamatoichi Shuzomoto.

The shochu was named "Kagayaki" (shine) with the hope that it will bring brighter times to Fukushima.

By the end of April, some 2,500 bottles, each containing 720 milliliters of shochu, had been produced. The label also displays the close ties between Fukushima and Kumamoto prefectures.

Featured are "Kumamon," the popular bear-like mascot for Kumamoto Prefecture, and "Kibitan," the mascot for the rebuilding of Fukushima Prefecture. Also, on the bottle, there is a short slogan that reads "Using Fukushima rice with Kumamoto technique."

Yoshino Watanabe, 58, and her husband, Jinki, 60, grow rice organically on their 8.5-hectare farm.

"We were perplexed at first by Yoshimura's proposal because we always wanted our customers to eat our rice with their meals," Yoshino Watanabe said.

However, the couple eventually agreed to the shochu idea.

"We hope people who try the drink will remember Fukushima as well as ponder a society where there are no nuclear power plants," she said.

In the fourth summer after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Watanabe farm has seen an increase in individual customers, but there has been no recovery in sales through retailing networks.

Yoshimura began his volunteer work for Fukushima because he believes Kyushu could find itself in the same situation.

"An accident that people said would never occur happened in Fukushima," he said. "Kyushu also has nuclear power plants. To be honest, I sometimes think, this could happen to us tomorrow."

Yoshimura's NPO is now seeking out supporters for the project. A bottle of shochu will be sent to anyone who contributes 2,000 yen ($20). The money collected will be used to provide assistance to the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network, another nonprofit organization.

A volunteer group in Fukuoka, Yume Circle, has also pitched in. The group has held fairs in Fukuoka city selling produce grown in the disaster-stricken areas.

The group's leader, Keisuke Yoshimizu, 58, said, "We want to spread the feeling that people are involving themselves, through building a relationship where we have face-to-face contact."