Tokyo: Japan has launched a drive to get young people to drink more alcohol. This comes after various people stopped drinking during the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to less revenue for the National Tax Agency. Now, the agency has urged people aged 20 to 39 to submit ideas for strategies to increase alcohol consumption, including promoting drinking at home. Contestants to the "Sake Viva!" contest have time till September 9 to come up with ideas, with the winning plan being announced in November and adopted by the NTA.
Intake of alcohol in Japan has come down by 25 per cent in the last quarter century, for reasons including an ageing population. The trend was intensified by the pandemic as young people stopped going out to restaurants and socialising. Last year, taxes from alcohol sales saw their biggest fall in three decades. In that year consumption of beer, which was the worst affected drink, was down by over 20 per cent. Earlier this month, an NTA official said that the move to working from home had also impacted drinking and taxes. According to the World Health Organisation alcohol consumption per head is less in Japan than in the UK, although still more than in China.
The official said that many people may have come to question whether they need to continue the habit of drinking with colleagues to deepen communication. If the new normal takes root, that will be an additional headwind for tax revenue."
