🤯 Why Japan Wants Its Youth To Drink More
In a move that has baffled the internet Japan is asking its youth to come up with ideas to promote alcohol.
“Drinking alcohol is injurious to health."
We've all seen this message multiple times in movie theatres, shows and ads.
But the Japanese government has a new message for its youth : "Not drinking alcohol is injurious to the economy."
Which is why Japan has launched a new program for its youth called Sake Viva, which wants suggestions to promote drinking among the youth.
Yes, you read that right.
🚫 Why Japan Isn't Drinking?
Since the 1990s, Japan's alcohol consumption has been declining.
And one of the major reasons behind this is that Japan's younger population is declining.Â
Japan is the world's oldest economy with over 28.7% of the population above the age of 65 (in India that number stands at 8.6%).
And it is the younger population that mostly drinks the maximum amount of alcohol. With lesser younger people available to drink and party, the alcohol consumption is obviously set to decline.
Wondering why Japan is such an old economy?
Because of high life expectancy and low fertility rates. So, the older people stick around for longer, while fewer and fewer younger people are born.
And the reason for these low fertility rates is Japan's crazy work culture.
Think your workplace has a toxic culture (P.S. do contact us if you're unhappy with your job), Japanese literally has a word for death from overwork: karoshi.
Because of this insane work life balance, the Japanese usually have no time for marriage and babies.Â
So, the youth population is low. And it also doesn't have a lot of time for partying and drinking.Â
Only 7.8% of people in their 20s drink alcohol on a regular basis.
And the ones who do usually prefer cheap liquor.
Okay, seems like they are making good choices financially and health-wise. So, why does the Japanese government want to change this?
Because the alcohol industry is important for several regional economies: it employs several people and boosts states' finances.
And more importantly, the Japanese government's tax revenue depends on the population's alcohol intake.
The liquor tax used to make up 4.1% of the government's total tax revenue in 1994, but the number has now dropped to 1.9%.
This may seem like a small drop to you but it is a huge deal for Japan. Why?Â
Because the country has a trade deficit of 48.17 trillion yen (It recorded a $19 billion deficit in just January 2022) and a debt of $12.2 trillion, the highest in the world!
So, it needs every bit of tax revenue that it can get.
But how did Japan amass such a massive trade deficit and debt?
This also dates back to the 1990s, when the asset bubble in Japan burst (let us know if you want to read about this in detail), plunging the country into a decade-long recession.
Though the country managed to mend things a little and spur some demand thanks to low interest rates and a robust economic policy, it still faces economic stagnation.
This stagnation has impacted revenue, meanwhile Japan's rising elderly population, of which the government has to take care, has increased costs.
Hence the deficit.
But do you think encouraging drinking is a step the government of a country should take?
Especially when a survey found that the risk of alcoholism and alcohol-related diseases saw a rise in the country during the pandemic.
Japan's Health Ministry earlier also ran a program to curb alcoholism and promote responsible drinking.
In this light, the contest seems like a bad idea.
But often a country's health policy and economic policy have to take different stances.
For instance, the Indian government also launches no smoking campaigns but has a 7.9% stake in ITC, the country's biggest cigarette maker (so does LIC).
However, instead of wasting more of the taxpayers' money on launching such a competition, Japan could help the country's alcohol industry pivot and make more products that appeal to the youth. A higher tax could then be introduced on these products.
In fact, the contest may bring the country nothing more than a bad rep.
âš¡In a line: Japan is encouraging its youth to drink, so it can have money to take care of its senior citizens.
💡Quick question: What do you think of Japan's new move?
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