Drink up, Japan tells youngsters. Will pass, many reply

Tokyo: Among the casualties of the pandemic is one that many young people in Japan say they do not miss: the drinking culture. Sobriety, they have decided after two years of less socialising and nightcrawling, has its advantages. And that's why a new message from the Japanese government - drink up! - seems to be putting few in the spirit. To bolster its ailing alcohol industry, Japan's National Tax Agency has kicked off a contest inviting those ages 20 to 39 to submit ideas for encouraging people to consume more alcohol.It named the project after the national beverage: "Sake Viva!" The agency says it hopes to "revitalise the industry" with the contest, whose winner is to be selected in a tournament later this year. But its entreaty is clashing with more than two years of actions by the government, which discouraged alcohol sales.
With Japan reaching new highs in coronavirus infections, including over 255,000 new cases on Thursday, many young people are wondering why the government is now saying it's OK to go out and drink. "Media is announcing record Covid cases, while restaurants are like, don't talk while eating, wear a mask," said Chika Kato, a 27-year-old consultant in Tokyo. "But the government is at the same time asking us to go all out and drink. Who do I listen to?"
To some, any official encouragement to drink - pandemic or not - is a bad idea. "I don't think it is a good thing to make people who don't drink, drink," said Mima Matsumaru, 25, who used the pandemic as a chance to stop drinking. None of the alcohol makers have signed on to the initiative. But bar owners and staff praised it. "I hope this helps Ginza (one of Tokyo's popular nightlife districts) come alive again," said a bartender.
On average, people in Japan drank about 20 gallons of alcohol in 2020, down from 26 gallons in 1995, according to government data. The decline has hurt lucrative tax revenues: Levies on alcohol accounted for 1.7% of Japan's tax revenue (about $8 billion) in 2020, down from 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980.
Worldwide, the pandemic has brought down alcohol consumption among younger adults. In South Korea, consumption of soju dropped by 14% from 2019 to 2020 and beer consumption by 23%, leading to the nation's lowest revenue in alcohol taxes in 10 years. In the US, the prevalence of binge drinking among young adults surveyed dropped to 26% in 2020, after remaining at about 30% from 2015 to 2019. NYT