Yua Mikami: Yeah, Saki is good, drink till you drop…

Japan urges its young people to drink more to boost economy

Contest asks young adults for ideas to revitalize popularity of alcoholic drinks after big fall in tax revenues

The Japanese government has launched a nationwide competition calling for ideas to encourage people to drink more alcohol after a change in attitudes among the young resulted in a slide in tax revenues.

Drunk Japanese Service

The Sake Viva! campaign, which is being run by the National Tax Agency (NTA), asks 20- to 39-year-olds to come up with proposals to help revitalize the popularity of alcoholic drinks, which have fallen out of favor because of lifestyle changes during the coronavirus pandemic and among young people.

The competition, which runs until 9 September, calls for “new products and designs” as well as ways to promote home drinking. Entrants are also encouraged to explore sales methods using the metaverse, according to local website JiJi.com.

Yes, drink till you drop… Ichiban!

The NTA said alcohol consumption in Japan had fallen from an average of 100 liters a person a year in 1995 to 75 liters in 2020. The decrease in alcohol sales has hit Japan’s budget, which is already running a deficit of more than ¥48tn ($290bn)

Tax revenue from taxes on alcohol has also shrunk over the years. According to The Japan Times newspaper, it made up 5% of total revenue in 1980, but in 2020 amounts to just 1.7%.

“As working from home made strides to a certain extent during the Covid 19 crisis, many people may have come to question whether they need to continue the habit of drinking with colleagues to deepen communication,” an official at the agency told the English-language newspaper at the time. “If the ‘new normal’ takes root, that will be an additional headwind for tax revenue.”

There was a particularly steep decline in beer consumption, with sales volume down 20% to less than 1.8bn liters.

Recent figures from the tax agency show that people were drinking less in 2020 than in 1995, with numbers plummeting from an annual average of 100 liters (22 gallons) to 75 liters (16 gallons) per adult.

Kirin brewery, which makes Kirin lager and Ichiban Shibori, said per capita beer consumption in Japan totaled about 55 bottles in 2020, a 9.1% decline on the previous year.

Japan’s health ministry said it hoped the campaign would also remind people to remember to drink only the “appropriate amount of alcohol”.

Finalists in the competition will be invited to gala awards ceremony in Tokyo on 10 November, and the tax office said it would support the commercialization of the ideas from the winner.

Stoned Japs boosting economy… What a noble idea.

Backlash hits the plan to boost alcohol businesses

The contest has hit a sour note with many people online, prompting pointed questions about why a government that has previously encouraged people to drink responsibly or abstain is now asking for help in getting young people to drink more.

We’re pretty sure Joe Biden has a plan for the Japanese. Yeah, right.

Yua Mikami and Shoko Takahashi

Shoko Takahashi, Yua Mikami, & Mana Sakura

TRASHY

The photo says it all. she was still married to this guy’s father when she got pregnant with their first baby, she knew and raised him from the age of seven.

SCANDALOUS

Petite Asian Getting Too Horny After Dinner