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Tax revenue from alcohol sales is lagging behind in Japan due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the restaurant and nightlife industries, so the country is launching a new contest called Sake Viva! to boost consumption among young people!
“The purpose of this announcement is to revitalize the industry,” Japan’s national tax authority said in announcing the plan, according to a translation.
A bartender wearing a face shield makes a cocktail at a nightclub in Tokyo, Japan, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, August 6, 2020. (Portal/Issei Kato)
Applicants aged 20 to 39 are encouraged to submit business plans ahead of a competition in November to boost alcohol sales to young people.
According to the Japan Times, tax revenues from alcohol fell by about $800 million in 2020.
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“As work from home has progressed to some extent during the COVID-19 crisis, many people may have wondered if they need to continue the habit of drinking with colleagues to deepen communication,” an official at Japan’s National Tax Agency newspaper said earlier this month.
“As the ‘new normal’ takes root, it will mean additional headwinds for tax revenues.”
Fishbowl-like acrylic screens used as part of new social distancing measures and to prevent infection with the coronavirus in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan August 6, 2020. (Portal/Issei Kato)
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Tax officials also blamed the country’s “falling birth rate and aging population” for the drop in alcohol sales.
Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.