After the pandemic, the Japanese government has a new problem.

Young people drink too little alcohol.

This is the conclusion suggested by a campaign by the National Tax Authority, which, under the motto "Sake Viva!", called on young people in a competition to develop business ideas for more alcohol consumption and for the starving Japanese breweries.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan based in Tokyo.

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The campaign, which can be translated as "cheers to alcohol", triggered a storm of indignation on social media.

Many commentators mock that the government uses tax money to encourage the consumption of alcohol, which is harmful to health.

A user on the short message service Twitter asks whether the government wants to reduce the average lifespan in order to reduce social costs, which are increasing in an aging society.

The tax authority states that it does not want to promote excessive consumption of alcohol.

According to the Ministry of Health, it is not involved in the campaign and recommends drinking alcohol responsibly.

According to the World Health Organization in 2018, the Japanese drink the equivalent of 8 liters of pure alcohol per capita per year.

13.4 liters are mentioned for Germany.

The competition is aimed at people between the ages of 20 and 39 who have until the beginning of September to submit marketing ideas for drinking more alcohol.

Alcohol consumption in Japan is only allowed from the age of 20.

More sales, higher tax revenue

In essence, the tax authorities aim to increase the consumption of rice wine, schnapps and whiskey in order to help local breweries and top up the tax coffers of the heavily indebted state.

Alcohol consumption has been declining for years, also as a result of the aging society.

In 1995, Japanese drank an average of 100 liters of alcoholic beverages a year.

In 2020 it was only 75 liters.

The revenue from the alcohol tax is correspondingly declining.

In the fiscal year 2020, the state collected 1.13 trillion yen (8.2 billion euros) with the alcohol tax, 9.1 percent less than in the previous year.

In the long term, too, the income from the alcohol tax will decrease.

Most recently, the alcohol tax contributed only 1.7 percent to the total tax revenue, in 2011 it was 3 percent and in 1980 even 5 percent.

In addition to the demographic development, the corona pandemic also harmed alcohol consumption in Japan.

One of the most important measures against the spread of the corona virus since 2020 has been that bars and restaurants should close earlier in the evening.

In some cases, the serving times for alcohol were also expressly limited.

This was to prevent tipsy guests from talking loudly.

The majority of restaurant owners followed the recommendations, which were not subject to penalties.

Together with the recommendation to work more from home, the drinking evenings with colleagues, which are common in Japan, were no longer necessary.

Even during the pandemic, younger Japanese people often met in front of small supermarkets late at night in popular nightlife areas in Tokyo to drink alcohol together.