Japan wants to promote new concepts related to drinking and marriage in order to revive its economy

The government of Japan wants to boost tax revenues. It has launched a campaign named ‘Sake Viva’ to promote the demand for varieties of Japanese wine. The intention is to help boost the industry. A pastime like drinking was natural with the previous generations and the government wants to revive it. Hence, the government has appealed to youth in the age group 20 to 39 to evolve innovative methods to revive the drinking habit among their peers. The range of products include sake (rice wine), shochu, whisky, beer or wine. It seems in 1995, people consumed an annual average of 100 litres per adult. This has declined to 75 litres per adult in 2020. Obviously, tax revenue from alcohol sales have also dropped from 5 per cent in 1980 to just 1.7 percent in 2020. Japan urges youth to drink, marry - all for the country and economy. This competition would cover every possible method based on new lifestyles and changes in tastes due to various reasons apart from new sales techniques. The final presentation of the ideas will take place in November in Tokyo.

Marriage is another worry for the Japanese government. This matter is personal to the people but declining birth rate is a matter of concern for the government. When the number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 865,000 in 2020, the government realized the need to address the issue. Local governments used to operate matchmaking services for its residents. In 2020, some local governments upgraded their systems. They wanted to harness the power of artificial intelligence and form better matches based on criteria of not only age and income but also hobbies and values. Japan now faces a dwindling workforce and is trying to boost its population. This is necessary because low birth rate would also mean a void in the availability of caregivers for the surge of elderly population in the future.

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Harry Potter, alcohol and pornography are giving rise to exorcism in Britain

There is a rise in cases of exorcism in Britain and the blame, apparently, lands at the feet of Harry Potter, alcohol and pornography. Two Catholic Church exorcists have revealed that there is an increase in the number of people who are asking priests to cleanse their bodies of demons.
In their opinion, the reason is nation's obsession with the supernatural and a fall in those who practice Christianity.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 24 September 2016.

The priests have admitted that exorcisms were 'run-of-the-mill' affairs for them but the procedure was far removed from the glamour that is usually portrayed in popular culture. Young people who watch TV shows and films about vampires and Harry Potter has contributed to the increase. The priests feel that even though the population has moved away from Christian beliefs, the people still want to believe in something invisible.
And, coupled with this is the pornography and alcohol consumption that influences people to want to rid 'satan' from their bodies. In fact, some people were coming to the priests claiming that a 'demonic presence had full control' of their bodies.


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Youth in Delhi are obese due to alcohol, junk food and carefree city lifestyle

A study has discovered that the youth of Delhi are obese and many of them do not want to admit it. Alcohol, junk food and carefree city lifestyle are pushing these youths in Delhi and neighboring regions towards obesity and, the worst part is that, a majority of them do not consider it as a disorder or are even aware of the health risks it entails.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 4 September 2016.

The study was conducted by a third-party on behalf of Max Healthcare across all zones of Delhi and NCR in order to investigate attitudes and experiences of general Delhi population towards obesity and weight-loss surgery. The study covered 1,000 people from Delhi and neighboring region, in the age group of 20-45 over the last one month.
The survey revealed that over 80 per cent of the respondents (both men and women) said they had a Body-Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 kg/sq m, but only about 21 per cent considered themselves as obese or overweight. The normal limit for BMI (body weight/height squared) is 22.5 kg/sq m but, youth in Delhi marked themselves as "not obese" eve when the BMI showed 27.5.
This is attributed to alcohol, and junk food which has become part of the carefree urban lifestyle. And, the reason of worry is that majority of the respondents (70 per cent) did not know that hypertension is associated with obesity, or that it could trigger diabetes. Moreover, 65.4 per cent men as against 73.6 per cent women didn't know that obesity could lead to joint problems, 93.5 per cent men versus 76.8 per cent women didn't know about kidney problems with obesity. And, 50 per cent men versus 63 per cent women agreed that obesity can be a cause for infidelity in a relationship.


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