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Japan Launches Alcohol Drinking Competition Due to Plunging Tax Revenue

Japan Launches Alcohol Drinking Competition Due to Plunging Tax Revenue

As a result of falling tax revenue, the nation of Japan has launched an alcohol drinking competition to encourage more consumption among young people.

The Sake Viva! campaign, which is being operated by the National Tax Agency (NTA), is aimed at young people -- age 20 to 39 -- and encourages this demographic to submit proposals to help revitalize the popularity of alcoholic beverages, which fell out of favor during the COVID-19 pandemic as lifestyle changes occurred. 

With bars and restaurants closed for a long period of time due to Japan's strict pandemic regulations, many young people adopted quarantine lifestyle choices that did not include alcohol consumption.

This has caused tax revenue to fall significantly.

English language newspaper, the Japan Times reported:

“As working from home made strides to a certain extent during the Covid 19 crisis, many people may have come to question whether they need to continue the habit of drinking with colleagues to deepen communication,” an official at the agency told the English-language newspaper at the time. “If the ‘new normal’ takes root, that will be an additional headwind for tax revenue.”

The outlet also shared that taxes on alcohol accounted for 1.7% of Japan’s total tax revenue in 2020, a margin down from 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980. The decline from 2019 to 2020 was the largest fall in 31 years. 

The NTA confirmed that the decrease in alcohol consumption has hit the nation's budget hard, while the nation's Ministry of Health is hoping that the Sake Viva! campaign will remind Japanese citizens to only drink "the appropriate amount of alcohol."

The Sake Viva! campaign officially runs through September 9, 2022, with additional events -- like November's "Enjoying the Sake of Western Honshu" -- continue throughout the year. 

What do you think about Sake Viva!?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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