Kenichiro Kojima, president of Kojima Sohonten Co., provides an explanation on a temperature-controlled fermentation tank, which consumes a large amount of electricity, in the city of Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, on Dec. 16, 2021. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Sato)

       YONEZAWA, Yamagata -- A centuries-old sake brewery in this northern Japan city is set to switch the source of all its electricity needed for production to renewable energy by forming a contract with a local utility to seek clean and sustainable brewing.

       Kojima Sohonten Co. in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, will receive power from Okitama Shindenryoku, a fledgling company set to commence its operations in spring of 2022 or later. The brewery's declaration to go all green came thanks to an encounter between the presidents of the two firms, who both returned to their hometowns after engaging in businesses outside the prefecture.

       "I was impressed to know that the Okitama area has the potential to sustain an energy supply with renewables alone," said Kenichiro Kojima, 41, president of Kojima Sohonten, which was founded in 1597 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

       Kojima Sohonten uses some 704 megawatt-hours of electricity per year to produce about 500,000 720-milliliter bottles worth of pure rice wine annually, including its refined sake brand Toko, via a fermentation and refrigeration processes. This figure excludes the use of heavy oil. The company is responsible for carbon dioxide emissions on par with the level generated by 144 general households. Under the new initiative, the brewer will purchase all of its electricity from Okitama Shindenryoku.

       Kenichiro Kojima, president of Kojima Sohonten Co., left, and Hironobu Goto, president of Okitama Shindenryoku, are seen in this photo provided by Kojima Sohonten Co.

       Kojima, a native of Yonezawa, worked for companies in Tokyo and the United States before taking over the brewing business from his predecessor in 2015. He also heads Ukogi, a corporation comprising eight members including young business operators in Yonezawa, which is involved in urban development. Ukogi was quick to launch a website aggregating information on take-out food in 2020 to support local eateries that were hit hard by the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

       Kojima's desire to use green energy was met by Hironobu Goto, 75, president of Okitama Shindenryoku, who hails from the prefectural town of Iide. The utility was founded in August 2021 with an eye to meet the Okitama area's power consumption needs with locally produced renewable energy. Both Kojima and Goto are alumni of the prefectural Yonezawa Kojokan High School. Goto returned to his hometown to contribute to the region after serving as vice president of Nomura Securities Co.

       "I'd like to join hands with young leaders in the local business community to move toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals," President Goto commented.

       President Kojima, meanwhile, said he appreciates the nation's current scheme that allows his company to pick a power retailer.

       "I'd like to make our initiative a model case in utilizing regional resources through sake brewing," he said.

       (Japanese original by Ryoichi Sato, Yonezawa Local Bureau)

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