tokyo among the casualties of the pandemic is one that many young people in japan say they do not miss the drinking culture sobriety they have decided after two years of less socialising and nightcrawling has its advantages and thats why a new message from the japanese government drink up seems to be putting few in the spirit to bolster its ailing alcohol industry japans national tax agency has kicked off a contest inviting those ages 20 to 39 to submit ideas for encouraging people to consume more alcohol it named the project after the national beverage sake viva the agency says it hopes to revitalise the industry with the contest whose winner is to be selected in a tournament later this year but its entreaty is clashing with more than two years of actions by the government which discouraged alcohol saleswith japan reaching new highs in coronavirus infections including over 255000 new cases on thursday many young people are wondering why the government is now saying its ok to go out and drink media is announcing record covid cases while restaurants are like dont talk while eating wear a mask said chika kato a 27yearold consultant in tokyo but the government is at the same time asking us to go all out and drink who do i listen toto some any official encouragement to drink pandemic or not is a bad idea i dont think it is a good thing to make people who dont drink drink said mima matsumaru 25 who used the pandemic as a chance to stop drinking none of the alcohol makers have signed on to the initiative but bar owners and staff praised it i hope this helps ginza one of tokyos popular nightlife districts come alive again said a bartenderon average people in japan drank about 20 gallons of alcohol in 2020 down from 26 gallons in 1995 according to government data the decline has hurt lucrative tax revenues levies on alcohol accounted for 17 of japans tax revenue about 8 billion in 2020 down from 3 in 2011 and 5 in 1980worldwide the pandemic has brought down alcohol consumption among younger adults in south korea consumption of soju dropped by 14 from 2019 to 2020 and beer consumption by 23 leading to the nations lowest revenue in alcohol taxes in 10 years in the us the prevalence of binge drinking among young adults surveyed dropped to 26 in 2020 after remaining at about 30 from 2015 to 2019 nyt