sake viva!: japan is urging its youth to drink more alcohol

‘sake viva!’ tells japanese youth to get drinking

‘Sake Viva!’ is an unusual business contest urging Japan’s youth to ditch sobriety for a few more drinks. Recently launched by the country’s Tax Agency, this controversial campaign responds to sharp declines in alcohol consumption over the past few years, putting a huge dent in Japan’s tax revenues.

It seems that local Millennials and Gen Z don’t indulge in drinking the same way their parents did. This trend among youngsters peaked right after the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, numbers for alcohol consumption have fallen from 100 liters in 1995 to 75 liters in 2020.

Pushing people to drink more is not exactly a move for a government to proudly stand by, but Japan is worried about not making ends meet since its alcohol tax revenues nowadays comprise only 1.7% of total revenues.

image © Stephen Chen via Unsplash

open call for unusual business plans to reverse the trend

Wanting to reverse that trend, the Tax Agency has released its unorthodox ‘Sake Viva!’ campaign, inviting people aged between 20 and 39 to propose new ideas that will get the young generation drinking again. Proposals include marketing schemes (branding and promotions) and even AI-related business plans. While the campaign title does focus on rice wine (sake), participants are also invited to target beer, whiskey shochu, and regular wine brands.

The open call will run until September 9, 2022. Selected winners will work alongside experts to develop their business ideas further before presenting them to a jury in November 2022.

image via Sake Viva!

Reactions to this campaign naturally involved outrage and criticism over promoting such a problematic (and potentially dangerous) trend. However, excitement for the contest also spread across social media, where users began sharing their out-of-the-box suggestions for the ‘Sake Viva!’ campaign.