Rediscovering the best of Fukushima's local produce through innovation

Fukushima was one of the biggest agricultural producers in Japan before the nuclear disaster in 2011. Today its resilient farming community is allowing consumers to once again enjoy produce from the region.

Enthusiastic producers along with decontamination efforts - that according to Japanese authorities reduced radioactivity rates to the same level as major cities - are allowing agriculture to gradually grow once again.

After 12 years, the Suzuki brewery recently returned to its hometown in Namie, one of the areas that were hit hardest by the disaster.

The old brewery, swept away by the tsunami, was located near the port. Brewers had a close link with the fishermen, and its sake was served to celebrate the big catches.

In Namie, the CEO of Suzuki Brewery, Suzuki Daizuke, wants to give a sense of hope and support to the local community.

"Before the earthquake, there were about 120 fishing boats, but now there are less than 30. To support the local fishing industry, we measured the compatibility of fish dishes that locals eat with our sake, and we combined them with AI to develop a sake called 'Fish-Sake Mariage' (Gyoshu Mariaju)," he told Euronews.

Sake is made using a different rice to that which you eat, and after the soil decontamination process, cultivating rice for food was the priority. As such, Daisuke started innovating. 

"I made the sake with rice that we actually eat, and I really think it’s delicious. Moreover, I reckoned that through sake I could spread the fact that the rice produced in Namie has nothing strange about it," he revealed.

Farmers and producers in the region try to cope with consumers’ concerns with innovative initiatives.

One such initiative is Wonder Farm, a tomato 'theme park' in Iwaki City.  Using