日本各地相繼制定乾杯条例

Last month the Asahi News on-line reported the following:

１杯目は地元の酒を　乾杯条例、各地で相次ぎ制定

鈴木逸弘

2014年5月25日09時42分

　地酒での乾杯をすすめる「乾杯条例」が各地で相次いで制定されている。消費拡大をめざし、日本酒だけでなく対象は焼酎、ワインと広がり、酒にあった器の利用を呼びかける自治体もある。半面、酒食に条例を定めることに違和感を訴える声もある。

　福島県南会津町の居酒屋では、食前酒として日本酒がおちょこに無料で振る舞われる。客で建材会社長の二瓶浩明さん（４６）は「はじめに日本酒が用意されていると乾杯後も日本酒でいっちゃうよ」。

　店でサービスを始めたのは昨年７月。「乾杯には地元酒を飲用する」とする条例を町が１カ月前に作ったのがきっかけだ。経営者の君島大輔さん（４０）は「日本酒に関心を持つお客様が増え、お酒にまつわる会話も増えた」。日本酒の売り上げは前年同月比で３割を超えた。

　４軒の造り酒屋がある南会津町。条例案を提出した星登志一町議（６４）は約１０年前、ワインの産地を視察した際、地元の人がワインで乾杯する習慣を知り、日本酒の乾杯普及を考えていた。造り酒屋「開当男山酒造」の渡部謙一社長は「条例を機に地酒を知ってもらい、消費拡大につなげたい」と話す。

　日本酒造組合中央会（東京都）によると、約６０の自治体が酒類での「乾杯条例」を制定している。昨年１月の京都市を皮切りに、佐賀県鹿島市や千葉県神崎町などに広がった。

(試譯文)

The "Toast ordinance" which recommended toasting using a local brand of sake was successively enacted in various locations. The aim was to increase consumption: not only making popular the sake but also the white distilled liquor and wine. Also there was a self-governing body which appealed for using a glass that would match the wine. On the other side there were also complaining voices due to the discomforting feeling regarding prescribing food and drink in an ordinance.

A tavern in Fukushima Minamiaizu-city was putting things inside out: a cup of sake was treated as aperitif for free. As a visitor, building-material company president Mr. Hiroaki Nihei (46) said "I will say a toast with sake, if sake is prepared in the first place".

Such service began in the store in July last year. The cause was that one month ago the town made an ordinance which supposed that "local alcohol be drunk for a toast". Manager Mr. Daisuke Kimijima (40) said "The visitors who get interested in sake had increased in number, and the conversation which centered round alcohol also had increased". The sale of sake exceeded the corresponding month of last year by 30 percent.

  

Minamiaizu-city had four liquor-maker houses. About ten years ago when Toshiichi Hoshi (64), a member of the town assembly who submitted the ordinance proposal, inspected the wine production locations started to know a custom that local people gave a toast using wine. He began to consider making popular the sake toasting. President Ken-ichi Watabe the liquor maker of "KaiTou Otokoyama Brewing" said that "the ordinance is an opportunity to know the local brands of sake, and he would like to promote consumption increase".

According to the Japan Sake Makers' Central Association (Tokyo), about 60 self-governing bodies had enacted the "Toast ordinance" on liquor. Starting with Kyoto in January last year, it had spread to Kashima-city of Saga and Kanzaki-district of Chiba etc.

It is understandable that voices complaining about prescribing food and drink in an ordinance may come out.