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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Death from diabetes increased 50 per cent in India between 2005 and 2015

It is an accepted fact that changing lifestyles have increased deaths due to diabetes by 50 per cent in India between 2005 and 2015. This is now the seventh-most common cause of death in the country. It was at the 11th position in 2005. This is based on data published by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 13 October 2016.

Ischemic heart disease remains the highest cause of death, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular disease, lower respiratory infection, diarrhoeal diseases and tuberculosis. However, in 2015, there wee 346,000 people who died of diabetes. This figure was 3.3 per cent of all deaths that year, with an annual increase of 2.7 per cent from 1990.
On an average, nearly 26 people die of diabetes per 100,000 population. In addition, diabetes is also one of the top causes of disability and accounts for 2.4 per cent of the disability-adjusted life-years lost (sum of years lost due to disability or premature death due to the disease).
Incidentally, in other countries a majority of people with diabetes are over 60 years old but, in India, it is in the 40-59 years age group. This affects productivity of the population. As per estimates, diabetes patients in urban areas spend Rs 10,000 and patients in rural areas spend Rs 6,260 every year on treatment. This is as per a study of 2013 published by The Association of Physicians of India.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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