Whut: Japan wants to let young people drink more alcohol

A problem that we in the Netherlands — in my opinion — don't really have to deal with. Now, I am really no longer a young person (although I still feel like one), but there has never been anything wrong with my alcohol consumption. Especially in the times when I didn't have hangovers yet (I miss those good old days), I was at times a bottomless pit. Wine, beer, shots, mixed drinks: all perfectly fine. Come on.

They apparently don't have that mindset in Japan, where they now have to come up with other ideas out of necessity. Here's the thing: Japanese youth drink very little alcohol. Too little, according to the government. And that's why the government has launched a national competition where people can submit their ideas on how to get those young people to drink more.

That campaign runs until tomorrow, and the finalists will exclusively receive a ticket for the Gala Awards Ceremony in Tokyo on November 10. And of course, the eventual winner gets to make their Million Dollar Idea a reality.

Is it really that bad in Japan that the government has to intervene to ensure more alcohol consumption among young people? Well, a little bit: beer consumption has, for example, dropped significantly. Between 2019 and 2020, it decreased by no less than twenty percent. Not good, then.

Now, I have of course been brainstorming my own ideas, even though this is quite a far-from-my-bed-show in terms of problems, so I am fairly blank. Open more pubs? Lower prices? Free beer tastings? More mandatory work drinks? I would have long been on board, you know.

Image: @Rolaofficial