New Delhi

The Japanese government has launched a countrywide competition calling for ideas to encourage people to drink more alcohol after a change in attitudes among young adults resulted in plummeting tax revenues.

Advertisment

The National Tax Agency (NTA) is running the Sake Viva! campaign, which invites persons aged 20 to 39 to submit ideas for reviving the appeal of alcoholic beverages, which has declined due to lifestyle changes during the coronavirus pandemic especially among young people.

As reported by the Guardian, the contest, which is open until September 9th, requests "new items and designs" in addition to strategies to encourage home drinking. The local website JiJi.com advises competitors to investigate metaverse-based sales strategies.

According to the NTA, the average annual alcohol consumption in Japan decreased from 100 litres per person in 1995 to 75 litres in 2020. The decline in alcohol sales has hurt Japan's finances, which are already in the red by more than 48 trillion yen (£290 billion).

Advertisment

In 2020, alcohol-related taxes made for 1.7% of Japan's total tax revenue, down from 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980.

The NTA reported earlier this month that the total revenue collected from alcohol taxes in the 2020 fiscal year decreased by more than 110 billion to 1.1 trillion compared to the prior year. The Japan Times said that it was the largest decrease in alcohol tax revenue in 31 years.

Also read | Tokyo Olympics executive arrested over bribery allegations

Advertisment

Beer consumption fell significantly, with sales volume falling 20% to less than 1.8 billion litres.

According to the Kirin brewery, which produces Ichiban Shibori and Kirin lager, the average person in Japan consumed roughly 55 bottles of beer in 2020, a 9.1% decrease from the previous year.

The health ministry of Japan expressed the hope that the campaign will also serve as a reminder for individuals to only consume the "proper amount of alcohol."

The competition's finalists will be invited to a lavish awards event in Tokyo on November 10; the tax office announced that it will promote the commercialization of the winner's ideas.