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| Japan: Contest announced to promote drinking alcohol among youth |
Alcoholism is not as common among Japan's youth as it is among its elderly population. But some government institutions are trying to change this situation through a special campaign.
The declining trend of drinking among Japanese youth is causing the government to lose revenue from alcohol sales taxes. Japan's traditional wine 'sake', made from rice, is causing economic losses to the government due to declining sales.
Japan's National Tax Agency has announced a nationwide contest to tackle the problem, asking people for advice on how to prepare young people for drinking.
The competition is called 'Sake Viva'. It is hoped that it will help create interest in alcohol consumption among the youth, which will help in tackling the economic damage caused by the alcohol industry.
In this competition, people aged 20 to 39 years have been asked to come up with a business idea that can promote the demand for alcohol among their peers. These ideas have been applied not only to 'sake' but also to whisky, beer and wine.
The agency organizing this competition says that the tendency of people to drink alcohol has decreased during Kovid. In addition, Japan's aging population is also the reason for the decline in alcohol sales.
Hosted in a virtual club
The agency wants people to come up with new ideas through promotional campaigns, branding and artificial intelligence to increase the popularity of wine.
According to Japanese media, the government's response to the campaign has been mixed. Some are condemning this step saying that alcohol is harmful to health while others are in favor of it.
Many people are sharing their advice online. A popular actress has shared a video of herself in the role of host in a virtual club.
People participating in the competition have until the end of September to send their ideas to the government agency. These ideas will then be refined with the help of experts. They will be further refined in November.
A special website has also been developed for this campaign. According to this website, the alcohol market in Japan is shrinking and Japan's shrinking and aging population is responsible for this decline.
According to the latest data, fewer people in Japan were drinking alcohol in 2020 than they were in 1995. In 1995, an alcoholic consumed an average of 100 liters of alcohol per year. In 2020, this amount is reduced to 75 liters.
And this has a direct impact on government revenue.
According to the Japan Times, a local newspaper, in 1980 five percent of the country's tax revenue came from alcohol. But in 2020, it dropped to just 1.7 percent. According to an estimate by the World Bank, 29% of Japan's population is over 65 years old. This is the largest proportion of the elderly population in the world.
But Japan's problem is not just falling government revenue. The problem is more serious than that.
The challenge of an aging population
Japan's biggest problem is that the proportion of the country's aging population is increasing. Japanese companies can't find young people for jobs. Many restaurants and stores close early due to staff shortages. This is because older people do not go out for shopping or eating at night.
So would it be right to assume that Japan's aging population is going to be a big challenge for them in the future?
Yuichiro Nakazika, managing director of Japanese company Crimson Phoenix, told the BBC that "the way of working in some sectors has changed." Their old method is no longer working. In the past, petrol pumps, local businesses and other shops were open 24 hours a day, but now they cannot find people to work.
Many businesses in Japan are now targeting elderly customers. They are called 'Silver Industry' in Japan. Businesses like nursing care homes and old age homes are flourishing in it.
Japan's economy is currently suffering from the youth shortage problem facing the country.
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