To Boost The Economy, Japan Encourages Youths To Drink More Alcohol

The Japanese government intends to persuade the country’s younger demographic to consume more alcoholic beverages to increase the economy by collecting taxes from the brewing businesses.

According to sources, the tax agency’s most recent records show that Japanese individuals drank less in 2020 than they did in 1995, with annual averages falling from 100 liters (22 gallons) to 75 liters (16 gallons).

Japan, the third-largest economy, has seen a decline in tax revenue from alcohol levies over time. The Japan Times reports that it represented 5% of all alcohol sales in 1980 but only 1.7% in 2020.

The amount that Japan lost in tax revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages in 2020 was around 110 billion (around $813,868,000), and the rate and magnitude of the decline were the biggest in 31 years.

According to the World Bank, Japan has the greatest percentage of people over 65 (29%) of any country in the world.

The government’s “Sake Viva!” campaign, which aims to develop a strategy to increase young drinking and strengthen the business, was launched as a result of the data.

The youngest generation currently consumes less alcohol than their parents, which has increased tariffs on drinks like sake (rice wine).

However, the campaign was created to invite young people between the ages of 20 and 39 to contribute their business concepts that will encourage the younger generation to start drinking again, whether it be for beer, wine, whiskey, sake, or shochu from Japan.

According to CNN, the “Sake Viva!” campaign, overseen by the National Tax Agency, invites participants to submit ideas on how to “stimulate demand among young people” for alcohol through new services, promotional methods, products, designs, and even sales techniques using artificial intelligence or the metaverse, according to the official competition website.

The website reads, “The domestic alcoholic beverage market is shrinking due to demographic changes such as the declining birthrate and aging population, and lifestyle changes due to the impact of COVID-19. It further makes an “appeal to the younger generation … and to revitalize the industry.”

In an article for the Japanese Health Ministry’s website on lifestyle-related disease prevention, doctors warned that “even with recent slowdowns in alcohol consumption, alcoholic-related problems remain significant. Reconsider your relationship with alcohol.”