Japan has launched a campaign to promote alcohol-drinking among young people as it faces the sobering reality of a population crisis.
India Today Web Desk
August 20, 2022
Female customers toast with beer at a restaurant in
Tokyo, Japan, August 29, 2017.
Picture taken on August 29, 2017.
(Reuters photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS
Japan has asked its young adults to drink more alcohol
Campaign “Sake Viva!” has been launched by Japan's National Tax Agency
It urges youngsters to come up with ideas that might help increase demand for alcoholic drinks
Amid the decline in the revenue collections, Japan has asked its young adults to drink more alcohol. It is an attempt by the government to boost the economy and to overcome a sobering population crisis exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.
The National Tax Agency (NTA) has announced a national business contest called “Sake Viva!” to promote alcohol-drinking in its younger population.
The campaign urges youngsters to come up with business ideas that might help increase demand for Japanese alcoholic drinks, including sake, shochu, awamori, beer, whisky and wine.
The Japanese tax agency has described it a plan that contributes to revitalising the liquor industry and solving problems.
The campaign “Sake Viva!” invites people aged between 20 and 39 to submit innovative ideas for reviving the appeal of alcoholic beverages.
As reported by the Independent, people can submit new proposals for products and designs compatible with the new ways of living and different tastes that have emerged following a slew of lockdowns and Covid restrictions in the last two years.
According to the contest’s page, there is no entry fee to enroll for the competition, which also asks people to suggest new sales methods that use artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and geographical indications (a sign used on products to specify their geographical origin) to improve brand value.
Finalists in the competition will be selected by September 27, which will be followed by another round in October. The results of this unique project are expected to be announced on November 10 in Tokyo.
According to NTA, data shows that Japanese were drinking less in 2020, after the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic as compared to the year 1995. In 1995, people were consuming 100 litres (22 gallons) of alcohol and now, alcohol drinking is down to 75 litres (16 gallons).
Japan is holding an open competition to figure out how to get people to buy more alcohol. Residents are not happy about it.
Matthew Loh
Fri, August 19, 2022
A young man wearing a kimono swigs from a bottle of champagne as he celebrates after attending a Coming of Age ceremony at Yokohama Arena on January 10, 2022 in Yokohama, Japan.
Matthew Loh
Fri, August 19, 2022
A young man wearing a kimono swigs from a bottle of champagne as he celebrates after attending a Coming of Age ceremony at Yokohama Arena on January 10, 2022 in Yokohama, Japan.
Carl Court/Getty Images
Japan recently announced a competition for ideas on how to get people to buy more alcohol.
The campaign has been criticized heavily online for promoting unhealthy habits.
Three Japanese residents told Insider they felt it would lead to long-term problems in society.
Japan's recent campaign urging people to drink up has sparked an outcry online, with citizens criticizing it as a short-sighted plan that encourages unhealthy habits for the sake of a bump in alcohol taxes.
The "Sake Viva!" campaign, run by Japan's National Tax Agency, is holding an open competition for young people to submit ideas on how to boost the sales of alcohol consumption — and thereby liquor tax revenues.
It's aimed at reviving the country's alcohol industry, which has suffered because of the country's aging population and lifestyle changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, its website said.
But so far, the campaign isn't off to a great start. As of Friday evening Tokyo time, the hashtag #SakeViva had been populated by dozens of posts, many of them in Japanese, bashing the campaign.
"Staying away from alcohol is a good thing. Do you want to go that far to take the liquor tax?" one user tweeted.
"Even if tax revenues rise a little, our medical expenses will explode," wrote Mikiko Kaneko, a freelance writer who goes by the Twitter handle @fukuuchi_ayano.
Kaneko, a 48-year-old freelance writer in Niigata city, told Insider she previously struggled with alcoholism but quit drinking for a second time in February. She said she started drinking heavily when she was younger partially because alcohol is often framed positively in Japan. She bashed the practice as "cultural brainwashing."
"In Japan, commercials for sake are usually played and you can buy alcohol freely at any time, so most people actually don't think of alcohol as a bad thing," she said.
"I think Sake Viva has made it clear that Japan is far behind in terms of awareness of alcohol among developed countries," she said.
Kazuma, another Japanese citizen who voiced his concern online, told Insider sake is especially popular among his peers because it's cheap. A 16-ounce can of sake containing 9% alcohol will retail in Japan for about $1.35, said the 28-year-old radiographer, who uses the handle @yanabuchiyanabu.
"I think it's impossible to justify the campaign," the Kyushu resident said. "If alcohol tax sales have declined, then the state should revise the tax rate and tax those who consume more alcohol to prevent alcohol dependence. I think this campaign will create a lot of diseases."
Manabu Ozawa, a basic medical sciences professor at a national university in Tokyo in his mid-40s, said it was "unbelievable" that a national government agency would spend money to promote something detrimental to its citizens' health.
"You can imagine how stupid it would be if the National Tax Agency were to launch a campaign to encourage young people to smoke cigarettes because cigarette tax revenues have fallen," he told Insider.
The National Tax Agency told The Japan Times it's promoting alcohol sales because fewer young people are drinking due to COVID-19 and a shrinking population. It described the initiative as a business promotion and said that "in no way is it encouraging people to drink excessively." The National Tax Agency did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
This isn't the first time Japan has launched a pro-drinking campaign. In 2017, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry encouraged office workers to leave work early on the last Friday of every month, in a bid to relieve Japan's overworked employees. One of its suggested activities in lieu of working that day was "getting the gang together for some relaxed night drinking," according to Japan Today. The campaign failed to take off, getting only 11% of employees to leave the office early, the outlet reported.
Japan recently announced a competition for ideas on how to get people to buy more alcohol.
The campaign has been criticized heavily online for promoting unhealthy habits.
Three Japanese residents told Insider they felt it would lead to long-term problems in society.
Japan's recent campaign urging people to drink up has sparked an outcry online, with citizens criticizing it as a short-sighted plan that encourages unhealthy habits for the sake of a bump in alcohol taxes.
The "Sake Viva!" campaign, run by Japan's National Tax Agency, is holding an open competition for young people to submit ideas on how to boost the sales of alcohol consumption — and thereby liquor tax revenues.
It's aimed at reviving the country's alcohol industry, which has suffered because of the country's aging population and lifestyle changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, its website said.
But so far, the campaign isn't off to a great start. As of Friday evening Tokyo time, the hashtag #SakeViva had been populated by dozens of posts, many of them in Japanese, bashing the campaign.
"Staying away from alcohol is a good thing. Do you want to go that far to take the liquor tax?" one user tweeted.
"Even if tax revenues rise a little, our medical expenses will explode," wrote Mikiko Kaneko, a freelance writer who goes by the Twitter handle @fukuuchi_ayano.
Kaneko, a 48-year-old freelance writer in Niigata city, told Insider she previously struggled with alcoholism but quit drinking for a second time in February. She said she started drinking heavily when she was younger partially because alcohol is often framed positively in Japan. She bashed the practice as "cultural brainwashing."
"In Japan, commercials for sake are usually played and you can buy alcohol freely at any time, so most people actually don't think of alcohol as a bad thing," she said.
"I think Sake Viva has made it clear that Japan is far behind in terms of awareness of alcohol among developed countries," she said.
Kazuma, another Japanese citizen who voiced his concern online, told Insider sake is especially popular among his peers because it's cheap. A 16-ounce can of sake containing 9% alcohol will retail in Japan for about $1.35, said the 28-year-old radiographer, who uses the handle @yanabuchiyanabu.
"I think it's impossible to justify the campaign," the Kyushu resident said. "If alcohol tax sales have declined, then the state should revise the tax rate and tax those who consume more alcohol to prevent alcohol dependence. I think this campaign will create a lot of diseases."
Manabu Ozawa, a basic medical sciences professor at a national university in Tokyo in his mid-40s, said it was "unbelievable" that a national government agency would spend money to promote something detrimental to its citizens' health.
"You can imagine how stupid it would be if the National Tax Agency were to launch a campaign to encourage young people to smoke cigarettes because cigarette tax revenues have fallen," he told Insider.
The National Tax Agency told The Japan Times it's promoting alcohol sales because fewer young people are drinking due to COVID-19 and a shrinking population. It described the initiative as a business promotion and said that "in no way is it encouraging people to drink excessively." The National Tax Agency did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
This isn't the first time Japan has launched a pro-drinking campaign. In 2017, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry encouraged office workers to leave work early on the last Friday of every month, in a bid to relieve Japan's overworked employees. One of its suggested activities in lieu of working that day was "getting the gang together for some relaxed night drinking," according to Japan Today. The campaign failed to take off, getting only 11% of employees to leave the office early, the outlet reported.
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