Japan is encouraging young people to drink more alcohol to help boost its economy

• Japan has launched a national competition to get its young people to drink more alcohol.
• The "Sake Viva!" competition seeks ideas about how to boost domestic alcohol sales.

Japan has launched a national competition aimed at encouraging young people to drink more alcohol.

The initiative, launched by Japan's National Tax Agency (NTA), aims to improve the country's economy by boosting the domestic alcohol market after a sharp drop in tax revenue.

Alcohol sales in the country have been shrinking due to Japan's aging population and lifestyle changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the campaign's website.

Japan's tax revenue from its alcohol sales fell by around 110 billion yen ($813,868,000) in 2020, according to The Japan Times. The rate and size of the drop was the largest decrease in 31 years, per the national news agency.

Now, the "Sake Viva!" competition wants young people aged between 20 to 39 to submit ideas about how to boost the sale of alcoholic beverages. These include Sake rice wine and shochu, a distilled liquor.

The competition also seeks ideas about new services and promotions, products and design proposals, and even initiatives about how to use AI and the metaverse to increase domestic sales.

Reactions to the campaign have been mixed, with some criticizing the competition as promoting an unhealthy habit, per BBC News.

The competition is set to run until September 9, with the finalists also invited to a gala awards ceremony in Tokyo on November 10. The tax office said it would support the commercialization of ideas from the competition winner.