Japan wants young people to drink more alcohol.

Japan wants young people to drink more alcohol. But you don’t know how to convince them. How many liters of alcohol does the drunkest country in Latin America drink?

Tokyo. The Japanese government has been hit hard in the pocket by an unusual problem: Its young people aren’t drinking enough.

Since the pandemic began, bars and other establishments that sell alcohol have been hit hard by covid-19 restrictions, causing sales (and alcohol tax revenue) to plummet in the third largest economy in the world.

The government’s solution? Launch a contest to find new ways to encourage young people to drink more.

“Long Live Sake!”, a campaign overseen by the National Revenue Agency, invites participants to submit ideas on how to “stimulate demand among young people” for alcohol through new services, forms of promotion, products, designs and even sales techniques using artificial intelligence or the metaverse, according to the contest’s official website.

“The domestic alcoholic beverages market is shrinking due to demographic changes, such as declining birth rate and aging population, and lifestyle changes due to the impact of covid-19,” said the website, adding that the contest was intended to “appeal to the younger generation… to revitalize the industry.”

Japan wants young people to drink more alcohol

The contest includes promotional ideas for all types of Japanese alcoholic beverages, with applications open until September 9. The finalists will be invited to an expert consultation in October, before a final tournament in November in Tokyo. The winner will receive support for their plan to be commercialized, according to the tax office.

But not everyone is on board with the contest and the tax agency has received some criticism on social media.

“Are you kidding me?” wrote one Twitter user. “Staying away from alcohol is a good thing!”

Others pointed out that it seemed inappropriate for a government agency to encourage young people to drink, and it appeared the campaign had failed to consider the health risks or sensitivity towards people dealing with alcoholism.

Japan’s Ministry of Health has warned in the past about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In a post on his website last year, he called binge drinking a “major societal problem” that persists despite a recent slowdown in consumption. And he urged people with unhealthy drinking habits to “reconsider” their relationship with alcohol.

A ministry spokesman declined to comment on the tax agency’s competence when contacted by CNN.

Decreased sales

Japan, along with several other countries in Asia, maintained harsh restrictions throughout much of the pandemic, closing public spaces and reducing restaurant business hours.

Izakayas, the Japanese version of a pub or tavern, have been particularly hard hit, with the latest available figures showing sales halving between 2019 and 2020, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

With fewer opportunities to drink in public, the rate of “domestic consumption” (drinking at home) “increased significantly,” the ministry said.

But young adults have stood out as the exception. About 30% of people between the ages of 40 and 60 drink regularly, meaning three or more days a week, the ministry said, compared with just 7.8% of people in their 20s.

“In this way, it is thought that the decrease in alcohol consumption habits year after year is having an effect on the contraction of the domestic market,” the ministry said.

In a 2021 report, the tax agency said that taxes on alcoholic beverages had been a major source of revenue for the government for centuries, but had declined in recent decades. Japan received 1.1 trillion yen ($8.1 billion) in taxes on alcohol in 2021: 1.7% of total tax revenue, compared with 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980.

Japan lifted the state of emergency in October 2021, allowing restaurants to sell alcohol again and stay open later, but restrictions in some parts of the country remained in place until March this year.

The country’s recovery since then has been slower than expected, hampered by rising inflation, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and recent surges in Covid cases that have led to prolonged restrictions.

CNN’s Kathleen Benoza contributed reporting.