NEW DELHI ¨C A Japanese woman is working tirelessly to promote sake in India, carefully selecting brands and selling them to local vendors and restaurants with the aim of spreading their appeal.

Maaya Takaoka, 37, from the town of Oyamazaki in Kyoto Prefecture, has been active in the sake export business. While at university, she first pursued a career as a pop idol. After working at a major e-commerce company, she obtained kikizakeshi certification, or a sommelier qualification specializing in sake, at a friend¡¯s recommendation.

She said although she took the qualification at a whim, she became captivated by sake when she visited a brewery and watched craftsmen create sake as if they were caring for their own children.

Inspired, Takaoka set up a company called Nihonshu-ni Shiyou, which literally means ¡°let¡¯s savor sake,¡± to deliver selected sake from across Japan to subscribers, serving as its CEO.

She moved to India this year, attracted by the country¡¯s vibrant culture and its large, untapped market.

Last year, Japan¡¯s sake exports to India amounted to about ?22 million, far below the ?11.7 billion of shipments to China, which has a similar population size.

Together with local vendors, Takaoka visits restaurants and bars in the western Indian city of Mumbai, where she lives, to pitch sake and develop new business relationships, seeking to expand sales channels in the country.

In mid-September, she held a sake-tasting event at a local Asian restaurant, also serving her own dishes that go with the drinks.

While many Indian people abstain from alcohol for religious reasons, a culture of enjoying cocktails is spreading in Mumbai. To encourage interest, Takaoka is introducing cocktails made with sake.

¡°I want people to know that sake has such a great taste,¡± she said.

Alongside her work in the sake business, she also performs as a singer at local events.