Alcohol taxes fell to just 1.7% of the country’s total tax revenue in 2020, down from 5% forty years ago.
Article written by
Posted on 08/19/2022 11:04 AM
Reading time: 1 min
A boost for the drink. The Japanese government will launch an advertising campaign this summer to encourage young people to drink more, British newspaper The Guardian reported on Wednesday (17 August). Named “Sake Viva!” (referring to the famous Japanese liquor), the advertising campaign, which runs until September 9, is being organized by the NTA (National Tax Agency).
It will take the form of a competition reserved for Japanese between the ages of 20 and 39 to gather young people’s opinions on how to revitalize alcohol consumption in the country through new “sales strategies,” specifies Japanese online media JiJi.com (on Japanese), quoted by The Guardian. The finalists will then be invited to an awards ceremony on September 10th and will receive financial support to commercialize their ideas.
According to Japanese media, the number of people not drinking has increased in recent years as opportunities to drink outside have declined in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. The NTA found that alcohol consumption in the country had fallen from an average of 100 liters per person per year in 1995 to 75 liters in 2020. The British newspaper also reports that beer consumption has fallen the most.
This drop in consumption led to a drop in sales and impacted Japan’s budget, which was already at half-staff. Alcohol taxes, which accounted for 5% of the country’s total tax revenue in 1980, accounted for just 1.7% in 2020. The country’s trade deficit hit 2,385 billion yen in May, the lowest in eight years as of Les Echos.