Tokyo (AFP)

At a trendy Tokyo cocktail bar, patrons sip drinks in bright colors and sophisticated flavors, designed for a small but growing domestic market: people who don't drink alcohol.

This non-alcoholic cocktail bar, aptly called "0%", remains an anomaly in Japan, where the consumption of beer, sake and spirits is inherent in the corporate culture.

There is even a portmanteau word to designate the phenomenon: "nominication", a combination of the words "drink" in Japanese (nomi) and "communication".

With alcohol, the formalism of office relations vanishes, and its consumption is seen as a necessary step for the professional advancement of some.

This situation has long disadvantaged non-drinkers like Hideto Fujino.

But this 54-year-old fund manager and others are now speaking out and discovering that they are not alone.

"Non-drinkers often feel uncomfortable (...). We sometimes hear things like + You can't be promoted if you can't drink alcohol +", explains Mr. Fujino, who created a Facebook group for non-drinkers.

He does not drink because he does not tolerate alcohol well.

Like about 5% of Japanese and many other East Asians, it lacks some of the enzymes that break down toxic alcohol byproducts.

People with this genetic predisposition suffer from side effects, including redness of the cheeks and feeling unwell when drinking.

- "Alone and discriminated against" -

But there are plenty of other reasons people choose not to drink, recalls Fujino, whose Facebook group has already attracted more than 4,000 members.

Some cite health reasons or pregnancy, others just don't like alcohol and its effects or prefer to drink in moderation.

Even so, non-drinkers may have difficulty integrating into a Japanese business, even today.

"In the office, sometimes senior executives only go out with those who can drink," said Fujino.

"You are told that you were not asked to come because you cannot drink, which makes you feel lonely and discriminated against."

He coined the term "gekonomist", a play on the Japanese terms "geko" (people with allergies to alcohol) and "nomi".

With his “gekonomist” Facebook friends like him, they exchange recipes for non-alcoholic drinks that they enjoy and share their experiences.

Many users of the group have also commented on the recent election of the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose alcohol abstinence is known.

“Long live the new Prime Minister geko!” Wrote one member, while another reflected on the pressure Mr. Suga had to undergo to join binge drinking sessions while climbing the ranks.

- Fewer young drinkers -

Mayumi Yamamoto, who started the "0%" bar, says her own abstinence experience prompted her to come up with better non-alcoholic drinks.

"I thought it would be good if there were other choices than tea and sparkling water for people like me," the 31-year-old told AFP.

Its bar in the Tokyo district of Roppongi, famous for its nightlife, offers vegan dishes, as well as cocktails made with basil, mascarpone, seaweed and even berries.

“Usually, I drink a lot of alcohol,” says Yuto Takahashi, a 24-year-old customer who came with his girlfriend who is allergic to alcohol.

"But here I enjoy the drinks more slowly, it's like I enjoy the atmosphere more."

Data from the Ministry of Health suggests that excessive alcohol consumption has declined markedly among young people.

In 2017, only 16% of Japanese men in their twenties and 25% in their thirties drank the equivalent of two or more glasses of wine at least three days a week, half as much as a decade or more. early.

"Young people no longer want this old + nominication + with their superiors," Naoko Kuga, a researcher at the NLI research institute who has studied the evolution of the alcohol market in Japan, told AFP.

"They will choose what they want to drink, and it just might be a non-alcoholic drink."

© 2020 AFP