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A guest at a Japanese inn enjoys a cup of sake. Sales of the Japanese liquor are falling and the national tax agency has launched a contest for ideas to promote sake drinking to young people. Photo: Getty Images
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‘Ridiculous’: backlash to Japan’s urging more sake drinking by young people to boost the drinks industry and economy

  • The Japanese tax agency launched ‘Sake Viva!’, a contest for ideas to promote the drinking of sake by young people, as liquor sales and liquor tax revenue fall
  • However, on social media, commenters suggested it was at odds with official advocacy of moderate drinking and that young people avoiding alcohol is a good thing
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A campaign by Japan’s tax agency to prop up alcohol revenue by encouraging young people to drink up has met fierce backlash on social media, with users criticising the agency for dictating people’s lifestyle choices.

The National Tax Agency’s “Sake Viva!” idea competition, which is seeking business plans from young people or groups to help revitalise the nation’s liquor industry, was launched in July and gained traction on Twitter this week after local and overseas media outlets reported the move.

Brewers in the country have struggled to arrest a decline in alcohol sales due to more health-conscious consumers, an ageing society and changing tastes among the young. A sharp fall in alcohol sales at restaurants and bars during the Covid-19 pandemic has seen producers resort to promoting even lower-alcohol products, while rising inflation is further squeezing profits.

The “Sake Viva” hashtag on Twitter was filled with heated responses. One user called the campaign “ridiculous”, saying young people avoiding alcohol should be perceived as a good thing.

Visitors walk through a tiny drinking street in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Consumption of sake has been falling for years in Japan. Photo: EPA-EFE

This sentiment was followed by others, some users noting the campaign appeared to be at odds with health ministry guidance that encourages moderate drinking.

Japan collected about 1.1 trillion yen (US$8 billion) in tax from liquor sales, or around 2 per cent of total tax revenue in the 2020-21 financial year, down 13 per cent from four years earlier, according to tax agency data. The volume of alcohol taxed has steadily shrunk to 7.7 billion litres as of 2020, down nearly 10 per cent from a decade ago, estimates from the tax agency show.

A group of patrons at a bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo, listen to an entertainer. During the coronavirus pandemic, sales of alcohol at bars and restaurants fell sharply. Photo: AP

The competition, which will take applications from anywhere in the world as long as they’re in Japanese, closes on September 9. Finals are scheduled for November 10 in Tokyo. Participants are encouraged to suggest promotional methods targeting the young or tapping artificial intelligence and the metaverse to boost sales.

Japan’s health ministry said that while it wasn’t involved in the campaign, it understood the spirit of the promotion was in line with its view that people should “drink responsibly”.

The National Tax Agency said the campaign aims to promote the alcohol industry at a time when issues ranging from Covid to a shrinking population mean fewer young people are drinking.

It’s a business promotion to encourage growth and “in no way is it encouraging people to drink excessively”, the agency said.

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