Skeptical of Alcohol’s Social Benefits, Japan’s Gen Z Hardly Drinks

Little Interest in Drinking Among the Younger Set

The Tokyo marketing firm Mery conducted a survey in July of 300 people in their twenties to gauge their views on alcohol consumption. When asked how often they drink, the most common response by far, at 44.0%, was “never.” Including those who have less than one drink a month, the category of respondents who hardly drink at all rises to 59.3%.

In contrast, only 10.3% said they drink four to six times a week, and just 7.7% drink almost every day. In other words, only around one in six respondents are regular drinkers.

When the respondents who drink three times or less per month were asked why, the most common response was “No particular reason” (33.7%), followed by “Poor tolerance for alcohol” (24.0%), “Can have fun without drinking” (22.6%), and “Don’t like the taste” (21.6%).

Among those who do drink, the most popular beverages were chūhai sour cocktails (59.5%), followed by beer (43.5%) and wine (27.4%).

The majority of respondents, at around 60%, held a negative view toward using alcohol as a way of building workplace camaraderie or improving communication, which is referred to in Japanese as nominication—a portmanteau formed from the Japanese verb nomu, meaning to drink, and the English word “communication.”

Data Sources

• Report on Generation Z alcohol consumption (Japanese) from Mery.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)