The 9th All Japan Best Sommelier Competition was held from 3-4 August 2020, with Taku Iguro winning the championship in his third attempt. He and Miyuki Morimoto, the runner up, will represent Japan at the 5th ASI Best Sommelier of Asia & Oceania contest, to be held in Melbourne, Australia in 2021. As such, Miyuki will be Japan’s first female representative sommelier at a contest of that level.
The competition, organized by the Japanese Sommelier Association, complied with all local Covid-19 standards. Beyond masks, this meant that the final stage was conducted without spectators. All participants nevertheless agreed afterward that the organizers had done a remarkable job in creating a world-class standard event under difficult circumstances.