44% of Japanese in their twenties do not drink alcohol at all, while another 16% drink les than once a month, according to a survey by Tokyo-based marketing firm Mery Co.
When the respondents who drink three times or less per month were asked why, the most common response was “no particular reason” (33.7%).
It was followed by “poor tolerance for alcohol,” “can have fun without drinking,” and “do not like the taste.”
The majority of respondents, at around 60%, held a negative view toward using alcohol as a way of building workplace camaraderie or improving communication,
The release of the findings coincided with monthly data from major brewers showing beer consumption in August dropped 9% year-on-year – the fifth straight month of decline.
The slump undermines the long-standing belief that beer sales rise sharply during Japan’s hot summers, when many consumers usually turn to beer to cool off.
Analysts say that pandemic-era lifestyle changes, rising living costs, and changing views on work and well-being are shaping how younger people socialise and spend their money.
“I think the pandemic changed Japan’s drinking culture, among older people as well as the younger generations,” said Sumie Kawakami, a social sciences lecturer at Yamanashi Gakuin University, as cited by South China Morning Post.
People could not go out and many of them just got out of the habit of drinking with colleagues after work, she said.
For young people, university is often a place for drinking parties, but that also stopped during the pandemic, she added.
“Those people have now graduated and are in the workforce, but they never got an appetite for drinking.”
Kawakami also said financial pressures from rising prices play a role, but she believes a deeper issue is the growing generational disconnect at work.
“A lot of people just want to get through their working day and then do their own thing, whether that is going home, meeting friends, hobbies or whatever.”
“While that might seem strange to older generations of Japanese workers, I actually think it is becoming more common among older people as well. These people want a better work-life balance.”
