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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China is a country of bachelors and spinsters - marriage is not for the young ones

China is being transformed into a country of bachelors and spinsters - marriage is not in the agenda of the young ones.
Its unmarried population has touched a whopping 200 million last year with a new survey pointing out that over 36 per cent of single women prefer to stay unwed.
This has been reported in deccanherald.com dated 13 December 2016.

This has got media outlets and government bodies worried. The consequences of this so-called wave of singledom is, in the opinion of demographers, a trend that will only grow in the future. Among the 200 million unmarried men and women in China, over 58 million are living on their own.
Incidentally, the unmarried population in China has skyrocketed from six per cent in 1990 to 14.6 per cent of the population in 2013. Demographers believe that the independence of modern Chinese women is one of the main causes of the growing unmarried population. As per a recent research of 2016, 36.8 per cent of single Chinese women feel that marriage is not necessary to live happy lives.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org
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