Japan is Asking People To Drink More Alcohol To "Fix The Country"

[@sxnthwave]

They’re attributing the drinking to a strong economy when really drinking is a side effect of a strong economy. Thats like buying a new house in hopes of getting a promotion at work

[@johnt2642]

they also want those taxes

[@LoneWolfOtaku]

The 🐔 or the 🥚 question, which comes first?

[@chubbybunny6975]

@@LoneWolfOtaku The egg came first because everything evolves in it's embryotic stage. Every animal was laying eggs, an embryo inside an egg evolved into the first chick and hatched, which lead to more embryos inside eggs evolving into more chickens. Scientists have known the answer to that question for over 50 years, Google is your friend

[@sxnthwave]

@@LoneWolfOtaku Which comes first, the alcohol or the alcoholic

[@Entropy67]

@@sxnthwave alcohol.

[@bundung123]

Literally everyone: Just open up the country and get that tourism money Japan: How about NO

[@Dynasty1818]

The whole World will be in recession in around a quarter, if not sooner. America is teetering, China is drowning in issues, Germany is stagnant, UK officially will be in recession in Oct, Nov, Dec. So you can count on even less tourism worldwide. So while things were pretty fine again, Japan keeps their doors closed...and now they need us to help by visiting, as we enter an economic era where people are going to be struggling to pay their new absurd, unsustainable energy bills, wondering IF they'll have an Xmas, and Japan MAY open the doors...for barely anyone to come in. Sounds like a great recipe...

[@crashniels]

Can't wait for a drinking visa

[@Rumham729]

@@Dynasty1818 I would say america has been in a recession this whole year but many means of measure. Things are actually getting better here, gas prices are going down again so that’s good.

[@LukeJLB]

"Open the country! Stop having it be closed!"

[@SolarSkyline]

@@Rumham729 yeah, id say its been getting a bit better recently, even in terms of prices of goods. Been seeing things for cheaper then i would have beforehand.

[@matejmaric3346]

Japan is literally becoming like that meme "It hurt itself in its confusion"

[@BarryMckockinah]

Basically most countries at the moment

[@EximiusDux]

And now they are attempting to cure the confusion by using an alcoholic potion.

[@pollodeshebrado6761]

@@EximiusDux It's super defective!

[@thewanderer4781]

@@pollodeshebrado6761 You have 3 turn before fainting!

[@elliotw.888]

@@BarryMckockinah but at least tourism in other countries is doing pretty good

[@goofytuna6077]

This is probably more of a “protect special interest groups” move than a “save the economy” move

[@abluemug]

100% Japan has such a large presence in global alcohol production the map is ridiculous.

[@Dequerk]

Yep

[@gotakazawa408]

Exactly. In my personal opinion as a Japanese person, this is one of the worst aspects of Japanese politics.

[@ddrcrono]

For a country that's supposedly long-term oriented, they have some strangely short-term solutions in mind.

[@prestonjones1653]

Well a good chunk of their population are old and decrepit, so don't have long for this world. May as well scrounge up whatever benefits they can get before they kick the bucket.

[@MilkIsASauceTV]

“We don’t want to reopen the country because people will get covid but we’re totally fine with encouraging everyone to pack into tight places and go ham”

[@mariadocarmosobreira8323]

Well, considering the only opened the country in the first place because the US literally bombed them into doing so...

[@MilkIsASauceTV]

@@mariadocarmosobreira8323 your brain is impressively small

[@mizukikyousuke7138]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ronuss]

lets not forget there still getting covid and cases are up lol

[@CC-kv9ez]

Because they are well aware about their covid situation tho, kinda make sense

[@MysteriousFigure]

Someone should tell Japan about what happened to Russia in the 90's when everyone started drinking like mad....... (I mean that was because everything was falling apart and people decided drinking was the way to escape their daily problems, but having more of your populace be drunk is not going to fix your economy, and neither is promoting any other health-damaging habits if they had that as the next idea in mind....)

[@qwertpoiuy430]

the brits beg to differ

[@grandvage]

@@qwertpoiuy430 do brits drink irresponsibly on a national scale?

[@qwertpoiuy430]

@@grandvage it’s their national sport

[@MrMich1lol]

You're saying it like it's not how russians currently are. The country of drunks and warhungry lunatics. Somebody just have to turn it off and on again, I guess.

[@lordulberthellblaze6509]

The widespread alcoholism in Russia is a lot more akin to the Opiod epidemic in the US. its doesnt just result in individuals suffering the health problems from excess consumption but also in the degradation of whole communities that get hooked.

[@mosscow6056]

Love a man doing his patriotic duty to save his country.

[@milandutta1995skid]

Japanese govt people are like cell, light yagami, toguro, makoto shishio, vicious. Actually yhey need leader like lelouch

[@brunolabastidasanchez8600]

Their names and actios must never to be forgoetten :v

[@Slydime917]

It's not his country, is it? He's not Japanese

[@faloel]

@@Slydime917 He´s half Japanese

[@Slydime917]

@@faloel riiight and I'm a tooth fairy. He doesn't look Japanese, so people don't see him as one. He'll never be regarded as Japanese, but a foreigner. The truth hurts, but it's reality, so let's face it instead of pretending it's not

[@AdachiCabbage]

A female government official (I forgot her name) brought this up and other problems with the Japanese government and said that the problem is that they are mostly old men who are out of touch with the problems/ignoring them. Like the solutions are easy but they are just going "Eh no."

[@Succubus_L0li]

Sexism could also be at play here

[@RandomSwiftie13]

This is why fossils shouldn't be in charge in the government. We need younger people in the government that actually understand the current world crises.

[@qwmx]

​@@Succubus_L0li Sexiesm and ageism.

[@VagabondTurtle]

Btw the fact that Japan thinks about even THIS before actually touching the tourism finally and realising that going from millions to zero in tourism is probably the issue, tells about the xenophobia on incredible levels and this is not coming through well with people. I can already see that interest is decreasing (still high but decreasing) because people get a sense that they are very much not welcomed. And so why would they want to go? They could go to Korea or Singapore. Also, if these are the measures, Japan will be more dangerous Covid spreading wise than other countries who adopted successfully with habits and attitude to the virus. So people will think twice because of that reason too.

[@IR-Fan]

And what's even funnier to me is that Japan is also known for it's strict regulations.

[@lyuuy7477]

whats wrong with that? The West has become a mess because the West is too open. Good on Japan for not copying the West.

[@june5646]

Japam is a dying g country for so many reasons, not getting covid vaccines because they think they know more is really gonna hurt them

[@RadenWA]

“Boosting economy” by moving unnecessary money out of their struggling youth to the big beer companies 🤣 you know what else boosts the economy? Moving money out of overseas into Japan by tourism, maybe

[@TheProswagonist]

And in 20-30 years, Japan will be wondering why the country has a serious alcohol addiction problem.

[@FormaAlert]

They already do, it'll just be so much more prevalent when the population is all extremely elderly and suffering from the consequences of the normalized alcohol addictions, and their livers fail as they age

[@fel524]

Addition.

[@demonic_myst4503]

It probably wont , the check republic is 9ne the worst alcaholic countries in world and most dont know its a problem even tho were talking lethal amounts of alcaholism

[@Zyleace]

@@demonic_myst4503 Uhh try checking their culture as of now. Or the economy and compare how they do compared to their neighboring countries in Europe.

[@Zyleace]

@@fel524 Alcohol + Brain = Addition.

[@DaimondMen]

So... fixing the economy by modernizing working ethics so peoples wouldn`t burn out of their work and do it better? - nah fixing the economy by modernizing equipment and improve efficiency by adopting new technologies? - nah fixing the economy by puting the younger generation on a needle of alcohol, which in the future can lead to an even greater deterioration in society as a whole? - YES Did i get it all right?

[@DarkXanadu]

Sounds about right

[@ivanelias3916]

maybe they need their younger people to drink more,because they want their younger people to socialize and to reproduce more. 7w7

[@petersansgaming8783]

@@ivanelias3916 maybe they would socialize more if they had more hours per day available instead of burning out for a job every day

[@ColumnBlack]

​@@ivanelias3916 In that case they forget that alcoholism, nightlife and a fast food lifestyle is bad for ones fertility.

[@farizakbari1545]

Japan is one of the country where logic is not relevant to tradition.

[@statesminds]

Japan also strongly encourages employees to go drink after work or it's frowned upon if they don't show up. That and encouraging drinking in younger people is horrible. Alcoholism has ruined a lot of people's lives. Drink if you want but to promote drinking so much to younger people while being anti-drugs is silly to me. Weed is illegal in Japan but they promote alcohol. Makes sense.

[@Moon1tan]

It's kind of insane how strict they are with drugs because they're bad for your health, ruin your mental state, and can be insanely addicting, yet alcohol that does the exact same thing is free game apparently because it's morally okay compared to drugs like what-

[@soasertsus]

It's disgusting how many people I see on a regular basis passed out in puddles of their own vomit in Shibuya every night and that's totally ok and fine. And doctors will literally hand out multiple sheets of Xanax like candy after a 2 minute appointment and zero vetting, that's also not a problem. But god forbid anyone have a crumb of weed or some mushrooms on them, that's the real problem!

[@hasselnttper3730]

Japan needs more beer, hash and occasional amphetamine. This would solve every problem.

[@Blewlongmun]

@@Moon1tan Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sugar are all more addicting/dangerous than weed, LSD, or magic mushrooms. Xanax, Adderall, Prozac, Zoloft, etc are all prescribed legal in most places and can all have permanent adverse effects from mental changes to psychoses to death . Drug laws in general make no sense.

[@lethaldream50]

i had a friend who taught english in japan in the 2000s. completely fluent in not just japanese but also korean and chinese, they should have had few issues socializing. however they are straight edge and the one time they ever touched alcohol in their life they had a terrible reaction to it that required hospitalization (something i can relate to as im also allergic to alcohol even though i am very much NOT straight edge. probably related to why this friend was straight edge is my point tho) ... they found it incredibly hard to integrate into socializing because of the heavy drinking culture there. so this was 15-20 years ago so it would i assume have been much worse back then compared to current young people level of sobriety in japan, but the difficulty of socializing as a tee-totaler in a heavy drinking culture was one of several main reasons they decided to leave japan because it resulted in them being so socially isolated. if you need frame of reference they were about 23-24+ yo mid-late 2000s when they returned from japan

[@RadicalDan4]

I like how every time Joey shows us his phone, there is a different picture of Aki as his lock-screen. That's love right there.

[@paolaanimator]

This article just makes me think of how the older generation always blames the new generation for ruining certain stuff in society. "You're not drinking enough!" "Millennials and Gen Z are so lazy!" "Nobody wants to work anymore!" "Stop buying Starbucks coffee and avocado toast, that's why you don't have savings, you suck at budgeting!" "Back in my day, I worked at a retail store and at the age of 20 I'm married, I have children, I bought a house and a car, pull up your pants and work harder!" I can easily make a BINGO of older generation blaming the newer generation.

[@Blewlongmun]

*The last generation didn't do anything, my generation was the best, and the next generation doesn't understand anything.* The irony of every generation saying the same thing.

[@lethaldream50]

oh man i just made a similar comment before i scrolled down more. yes we seriously could make SEVERAL bingo cards at this point

[@pheonixrises11]

@@Blewlongmun damn, I’ll try to keep that in mind.

[@Friendly_Neigborhood_Astolfo]

They abuse their employees then wonder why they can't retain them.

[@ikwilgewoonfilmpje]

Agreed. Instead of making an idea and then asking young people how-to-implement-this. They should ask what ideas do you have and will this idea we have work. Work together with young people (not young myself) to make an idea that is successful. Also lets prioritise health over economics when it comes to alcohol. If people don't drink to much leave them alone.

[@erynflynn8467]

Here's another thing to add to the 'health conscious' aspect, how many young people today have seen the negative impacts of heavy drinking and alcoholism and dont drink much, if at all, as a result? Drunk parents beating up husbands/wives/kids is a trope for a reason.

[@maeschder]

Yep. I love a good nomihoudai every once in a while (especially while i was on exchange or interning), but having an alcoholic dad (now teetotal for 5+ years) really gives you that much needed perspective.

[@Zyleace]

Meh beer tastes absolute garbage. I don't even know why people would drink it.

[@erynflynn8467]

@@Zyleace right?? And wine tastes like sucking on an old, dry washcloth

[@Zyleace]

@@erynflynn8467 You couldn't have said it any better. The taste of grape juice is already great and they still want to make wine. Blegh.

[@Random_dud31]

Actually both beer and wine taste bad. Just drink some meth. Its good for the soul

[@antaris905]

The icing on the shit sundae is that Japan had the perfect opportunity to boost alcohol sales in the past 5 years. But dropped the bloody ball so hard it left a crater. Japanese whiskey was a real big thing in the whiskey community because it was positively acclaimed. Lots of people are buying up Japanese whiskey to the point that if the bottle has kanji on it, chance is that it will sell. But there was a problem in the Japanese law when it comes to “what constitutes as Japanese whiskey”, turned out that it was extremely lax. Compared to American bourbon and Scotch from Scotland, which both have strict restrictions and upholding standard in order to label their liquor, Japanese company can source a random batch of whiskey from elsewhere in the world, bottle them in Japan, and it would still constitute as Japanese whiskey. This lead to a massive flood of subpar Japanese whiskey that startled the enthusiasts, and the OG makers like Suntory and Nikka are running out of juice. The regulations got revised for the better last year April, but the reputation has already been damaged; for goods that require aging like whiskey, it will take probably another decade for Japanese liquor makers to pick up the pieces.

[@kitsunelee007]

Don't get me started on the lack of good Japanese whiskey! I was beating this drum 2yrs ago before the damn pandemic!

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

Well if Suntory and Nikka dont have any aged whisky for the next decade, then they didnt miss the opportunity. The industry actually sold more than what they had, so its still a success. Reputations arent as bad as you make it out because i haven't heard of anyone saying negatively about Suntory, Nikka or Kirin.

[@Violetstar42]

Japan is trying realllly hard to avoid opening up to foreigners again and it honestly breaks my heart. They're just going to hurt themselves further if they encourage their youth to become drunkards. I initially understood them not wanting to open up to the world but now it's getting ridiculous

[@lyuuy7477]

not really. The west is a mess because its too open. No wonder Japan doesnt want to copy the West

[@davidciprys7811]

Me (a slav): *starts packing my bags* My mother: What are you doing? Me: I'm going to save Japan.

[@juancarloscuaocastellanos8813]

Me, a Colombian 🇨🇴: "I'm going with you, good sir... Let me save the japanese ladies!" 😁😏🥵

[@Radman22]

I like how people drinking less alcohol is seen as a bad thing.

[@UnrestingSpirit]

Change is the devil, doesn't matter if it's good

[@heyking8583]

Islam is malding

[@shinjid3705]

has always been. I have told my co workers that i dont like drinking and they say im being too health conscious and missing out on the "fun". What fun? Hangover? xDDD Since when is losing control a fun thing to do? More like embarrassing myself in public.

[@KyleTBelmont]

@@shinjid3705 Try out drinking/ smoking weed alone, not in public.

[@sladejosephwilson2300]

@@shinjid3705 Drinking is fine. But the real problem is drinking too much or making it the norm.

[@pabloquinonez8679]

It's really surprising to see this happen, it's in my country as well, but not as severe, when the government is ruled by OLD people who have never touched grass or doesn't even look or listen what their people need, this happens, like 100% it could even be a social experiment easily, so we'll see how it goes, because it is a cultural problem as well I'd say

[@brunolabastidasanchez8600]

Es como dije en un comentario, esta a solo unos cuantos pasos de comvertirse en nuestro platanal XD

[@edivimo]

Yes, you're totally right. The old people is in power and they blame of all the problems in other people, not them: foreigners or younger japanese.

[@Zakrovik]

Old ppl stupid and delusional.

[@w1z4rd9]

@@edivimo Sometimes they do be really blaming the youngs. Like TF you want us to do? We don't have voting power in terms of numbers and representatives. With a shitty ass overall life and is already overworked while all the Taxes is going through that sweat welfare bullsh1t politicians put on for votes.

[@tonym.8069]

A lot of countries are like that, a lot of elites have found ways to kick any possible challengers out of the way or bring them too deep into the fold. Their old foggies who don't want to lose control of their place in history/wealth/meaning you name it, especially when they're losing control over mental and physical aspects. Something I deal with my grandma and she's just a typical retiree, but refuses to give up her big house she won't take care of herself and makes her family near nonstop deal with, she makes it impossible for anyone to want to live near/or with her to keep an eye on her, and refuses to admit her hearing and eyesight are going hard. Its what happens when elites just have kids and tell them to fudge off while they fudge the maids and butlers, and then those elites have kids with the thought they're godlings and nothing they do is wrong, but if those peasants step out of line they're getting it! They become complacent cause a lot of those parents/now grandparents didn't really want to challenge them but happily spoil them in all honesty.

[@Dragonpit]

According to an article in the Seattle Times back here in the states, there is no proven benefit to consuming alcohol, not even health benefits, and heavy drinkers are less likely to make good choices than those who don't. So given this decision in Japanese Bureaucracy, I'd say the politicians of the east are VERY heavy drinkers indeed...

[@Entropic_Alloy]

There is a benefit to my joy. As much as I despise overly indulgent alcoholics, this new wave of prohibitionist teetotalers online are just as obnoxious at this point. You guys are on the same level of militant vegans and anti-natalists in your crusade of who can be the most annoying.

[@Mic_Glow]

Everything in moderation...1 coffee per day has some benefits (or at least no negative effects) but if you drink 5+ you flush vitamins and calcium down the drain. Italians drink wine and live very long, beer can help with digestion and urinary stuff... but if you drink one now and then, not 6 in one sitting or a crate over the weekend.

[@Elmithian]

​@@Entropic_Alloy ...he wasn't even calling for restriction of alcohol. He was just saying there are no health benefits. Stop lashing out because your coping mechanism for life was criticised. I like fatty food and ate it to silly degree for the longest time as a way to deal with stress but I ain't gonna claim it was good for me, nor will I attack people for criticising eating too much. Seriously, their comment had nothing about regulations or prohibitions. Where the hell did you get that from?

[@kokorochacarero8003]

Just so you know, I'd be literally dumping fortunes into the japanese economy if I was able to navigate those official merchandise websites. Yes, the ones that are available ONLY IN JAPANESE

[@helenwhs]

And many Japanese think English is a waste of time 😂

[@MrIvanm10]

I’m glad you’re shedding light on this. And I’m also glad you waited a while to make these kind of videos or else you would’ve been cancelled real quick. Some people just want to stay locked down

[@chubbybunny6975]

I love the irony of this when Oxford University in England, just released a study showing that there is NO safe alcohol consumption level before you're 40 years old. They found that consuming any amount alcohol, regardless of whether it's beer or hard liquor, before you're 40 years old does nothing but damage to your body and brain, and they think it's connected to dementia and Alzheimer's, so that's fun. Japan: "Drink more alcohol!! Help our society!!" England: "Actually don't you're just putting yourselves into an early grave and are gonna skyrocket the cost of your healthcare"

[@BroodKingEXE]

Another layer of funny in the fact that UK drinking is greater than in Japan.

[@Dartagnan753]

This may be true if you're English. But my 101yo great grandfather said the way of life is alcohol and women.

[@internetshortscomp5810]

wow holy shit really?

[@guillaumejacques-pouliot8088]

@@Dartagnan753 that is anecdotal, and in no way any kind of proof.

[@xXDESTINYMBXx]

@@guillaumejacques-pouliot8088 so is the statement from op that can't link the study.

[@chrisgarbutt1893]

I feel Japan is once again at a reoccurring cross road of whether to completely embrace openness or adopt a new Sakoku policy to closed itself off from the rest of the world again. Japan can either embrace openness by taking advantage of it's cultural global soft power and fully open up the country to tourists/investors to help bankrupt cities like Kyoto and experiment with new economic policies such as a 6 hour work day and a 3 day weekend to give the overwork depressed Japanese people some breathing room. Or they can appease the traditionalist to not disrupt the status quo social order and do short sighted quick fixes policies like this.

[@Dregomz02]

CEOs are too greedy to let people to work less, even tho global productivity due modern technology is sky high like never before, we shouldn't really work more than 4-6h a day

[@Cookie20212]

oh you spitting right now

[@Drownedinblood]

If the rest of "the world" handled covid better, they probably wouldn't have to.

[@TheCatslock]

@@Dregomz02 And thats the best part. People are working so many hours they can't meet or hang out with anyone so the CEOs are basically punching themselves and the Government in the face and making new future tax payers basically impossible since people aren't able to have sex as much or at all.

[@PicassosCat]

@@Cookie20212 in this pandemic?

[@Disig]

Well that's what you get when you have a government made entirely of elderly men who are very traditional and depend on what worked in the past to solve problems instead of allowing younger people into office or even listening to younger people. Like, I am not surprised in the least by any that you are sharing with us. Japan really had a bad government issue and it's just showing more and more as the world continues to go into crisis.

[@zianawind2970]

Thanks Joey for putting up some news now e then. I’ve lived in Japan for 5 years I find it unrelatable society wise and I only learn about the perks from you e random channels of KZbin lol. I cut wood and am an artist so I’m ok but it feels like a sad place in the cities.. I’m starting to feel like little by little it’s going to be the outsiders who are helping bring a revival to this absolutely beautiful but very old place…. I am just glad there’s people out here with a voice and new perspective.. your videos actually cheer and inform, it’s good to have perspective

[@Yamstarch]

Joey. Admittedly I have avoided your content and TT for years now. But that said, this video is indeed mirroring my own thoughts. I have lived here for six years now and I am ready to pull my hair out over all of this.

[@tempest8063]

Ironic how letting people in the country would likely boost both drinking economy and the country’s economy as a whole. They could not only solve the problem they perceive but also the one that affects them the most

[@MCcheezewizard]

Yes, I too watched the video. You practically just regurgitated the point Joey made bar for bar several times.

[@kristoffer8609]

They should be letting people in the country? What do you mean? Renting them out or bloodletting?

[@Zero-qn8mk]

@@MCcheezewizard well that was a little mean spirited

[@Marth667]

The cost is even higher levels of covid of course, which could be devastating to japans aging population. You're fucked either way tbh. A stagnating economy or larger death and more chance for not only a foreign strain being introduced but also the development of a new one. Pick your poison I suppose.

[@septic1502]

Think Joey missed the point of worldwide recession and inflation, just because Japan opens up does not mean they will get tourism back to pre pandemic levels

[@MHGenesis]

Don't worry I'm sure they'll have an intelligent solution, like letting foreigners in and increasing the alcohol tax income simultaneously...by providing "guided drinking tours" for Australians.

[@tacitus_]

We're about to help Japan with their population issues 😉

[@Snoop_Dugg]

Ski season is approaching..

[@pawn5253]

@@tacitus_ oh shit your moms going there?

[@Chi-Chi-Fy]

Bro you want to make japan the new america?

[@pingpong5877]

@@Chi-Chi-Fy yes

[@TheSummerChu]

It's like a snowballing of Japan's xenophobia in public (or maybe political?) consciousness. They're not even thinking about foreigners as a solution to so many of their problems, just "foreigner's aren't coming in" as a completely separate issue, unrelated to everything else that's going on with their economy. But because they're so against that idea, so many issues are snowballing.

[@williamzhang153]

Japan be like: "Clearly, foreigners are always the problem"

[@xXDESTINYMBXx]

Immigration isn't a solution for Japan, but tourism would clearly help with the issues present. If they continue like this their softpower will be at stake.

[@ryn545]

@@xXDESTINYMBXx agreed

[@mr.tosciro4025]

i mean the problem at the root is the work ethic if you think about it, ah yes let's work 17 hours a day so the people will not have a life, this causes lack of relationships and lack of friends and a partner, they both create lonliness and lack of offsprings they both create sadness (high rate of suicides) and in the end they both create a lack of people, less people? more need to people from other places to fill places (customers in this case) the economy stagnates ecc... ecc... . For the love of god Japan is a great country but rotten to the core

[@Zyleace]

@@mr.tosciro4025 Honestly that's not even the root of it. It's the rigid culture of "It has to be like this, we can't do that, and we all have to follow a strict structure in our way of living." The work ethic is just an offshoot of their collective culture. Allowance and compromise are not options to their problems which they don't know, created more problems honestly.

[@crushworthyxo]

I actually drank way more during the lockdown. I was bored and depressed. You know what makes time go by and makes me feel good? Getting drunk. (Not really, that’s just what my brain thought at the time.) From what I’ve seen, either during or just after the lockdowns, a bunch of people I know are trying to get healthy again, or are attempting to for the first time ever. That includes cutting down or even eliminating alcohol from their diets. I know after a year of wallowing in impeding doom and sadness, I put on the most weight I ever have before, so I did a 180 and now no longer stop at the liquor store on my way home from work to down a 6pack of IPA’s every Friday/ Tuesday/ whatever day I felt I needed the comfort.

[@riassslave558]

now that's so cool you put out this vid on my b-day! thanx Joey!!🥳🤘

[@Dan-Athema]

The Japanese government really needs to look up the meanings of "causation" and "correlation"

[@kaimcdragonfist4803]

What gets me is the fact that it’s yet another case of, “Blame the young people for a change in taste or culture” If the article had a quote of someone talking about Starbucks and avocado toast it’s basically it’s own freaking bingo card

[@abdiabdi3225]

japan has been in the game of shitting on young people since the 90s its the legit og in terms of this most of the west only started after 2008 decades later.

[@firefly618]

They are so blind. They (both government and companies) have no idea how their cultural products, whether manga/anime/games/etc, shaped entire generations of foreigners who would love nothing more than to visit / study / live in Japan even just for a year. Let alone everybody else who would love to come just for the history, landscape, and traditions. I lived for one year in Japan and I would drink 1 can of beer every night, more on the weekends. Like, that's what I normally do. And I was just one person. But no, let's pay taxpayer money to random young people so they can come up with ideas on how to make the *other* young people drink more, but strictly *alone in their apartments,* because izakayas are the devil incarnate. SMH

[@maeschder]

Typical case of Japan being to self-focused to make use of a great opportunity.

[@calvinang1]

U hit the nail on every point. Younger lawmakers needs to replace the older generation for the situation to improve.

[@annytf]

we can see Joey progressively losing his mind every new video xd honestly same..

[@sean6653]

I'm convinced Japanese economics is just real life boomer posting. "Young people have to just buy more stuff to stimulate the economy, shouganai"

[@Mic_Glow]

"if you didn't drink coffee and buy that new phone you could afford a home.... (looks at housing prices) in 150 years"

[@hasselnttper3730]

Beer in belly = good economy

[@lethaldream50]

remember when every boomer journalist was writing up millenials for loving avocado toast and being emotionally sensitive/open to going to therapy? it's kind of like that, except with real life consequences instead of just online outrage lmao

[@hasselnttper3730]

@@lethaldream50 Ngl therapy is hella gay

[@FM-dm8xj]

gdp growth is basically expenditure.

[@hellscaller3354]

Joey: complaining about Japan wasting tax money Americans: "first time?"

[@zeckio]

i was looking for this

[@bemysty]

Yeah, sure, when people are struggling to afford all three of rent, electricity/gas and groceries, sure they want to get onto the liver damage train... I keep running into these things and I'm really starting to wonder whether lead-based brain damage among the boomer set is a global thing rather than a local issue.

[@melelconquistador]

Old as Liberals and neoliberals thinking the world can conform to their mental gymnastics. Liberals are conservatives in denial.

[@erisunflower]

It could also be a “power-complex” said boomers want.. to control everything and everyone but who knows.

[@Adhimaska]

It really was a global issue

[@oyveyshalom]

How do we get rid of lead brained boomers in power? WE'RE JUST GONNA KILL EM'

[@adventofnull]

Lead poisoning is a worldwide phenomenon :)

[@mhdj14]

Fun fact: Alcohol is classified as hard drugs by every government branch dealing with drugs and narcotics in almost every country in the world. So basically Japan wants every Japanese citizen to be a drug addict...

[@turtleofpride4572]

There's already a word for that. Alcoholic. D

[@mhdj14]

@@turtleofpride4572 The problem is that the word “alcoholic” holds very little weight in our current society. You see people going full karen mode when they see someone smoking regular or even weed cigarettes. Going as far as having massive anti smoking campaigns worldwide or banning it outright. Meanwhile these same people have no problem drinking all night and easy drink 5+ liters of beer/wine/whatever and see nothing wrong with it, even though alcohol is FAR more damaging to your entire body then smoking (weed). Look up “South Park Alcohol Ad” to see how alcohol is actually still advertised to this day as if it’s nothing but safe and clean fun. Calling it what it really is, DRUGS, puts much more weight on the issue, and makes people much more aware of what they put in their bodies. Everything can be enjoyed in moderation, but not when you drink it as if it’s water in the desert...

[@turtleofpride4572]

@@mhdj14 i myself am a recovering alcoholic, am an American so I'm pretty firmly with how the Alcohol industry works. The problem is drug addict already has connotation, stigma an behaviors different than what society sees in alcohol. Alcohol is a drug but it's always been social okie. Where doing a bag of heroin has never been okie.

[@qwmx]

Drunk and drunk sex, they want more babies.

[@parrotwit]

keep pumping the news joey! I want more!!

[@celestialamber174]

Everyone else: "We should let tourists come back and take advantage of yen being worth less to boost the economy" Some people in Japan: "LEtS makE YoUnG pEOpLe gEt dRuNK"

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

To be fair, they are different branches, the Tax agency does their own thing. The drinking campaign has nothing to do with tourism or immigration.

[@celestialamber174]

@@Pepe-dq2ib So? They should be working together to a certain extent, even if they are separate branches.

[@grahamparks1645]

Well getting every young person in Japan drunk might lead to another solution to another problem: the low birth rates. More drunk young people could result in more babies which means a more secure future workforce.

[@sanfransiscon]

Can't wait for the shonen battle anime about mixing alcoholic drinks to get different super powers.

[@bjap1563]

"Bartender"

[@xanthiaswords6116]

Joey: Japan can't be more dumb Japan: Hold my beer... Japan Alcohol Analyst: Wait a minute....

[@lethaldream50]

this comment made me laugh thanks

[@Shy-xm4kn]

Alcoholism is no joke. As a child with both parents being alcoholics I was emotionally neglected by my dad and physically abused by my mom. CPS was called multiple times by teachers and family friends. Now as an adult I’m in a relationship with a functioning alcoholic and it’s hell. Japan already has a weird workplace culture with alcohol. Encouraging this further is going to cause major harm. Harm to peoples bodies and family lives.

[@johnnypollack3243]

Love the video and keep up the great work joey

[@NightStarGamer]

I'm sorry to hear that Japan isn't making better decisions though I feel like a lot of governments tend to focus on the problem presented to them rather than try to get to the root of the problem. Early on in the pandemic, I was really proud of what Ontario was doing to help protect it's citizens. They were giving people $2000 a month to stay home ($600 of each month had to be paid back in taxes), they halted any rent and utility increases, and said that grocery prices wont increase even calling out small businesses that tried and so much more. But slowly after 2020 everything started going down hill, they gave up on trying to stop the spread, gave into demands, utilities and food have doubled or tripled, renters were getting kicked out of there homes in order for the landlords to almost double the original rent and gave up on actually keeping track of covid cases instead they are estimating the cases, so even if you want to avoid going out when the cases are high, you can't because you don't actually know. Plus so much more.

[@frankieyuen9363]

Right instead of letting people in make the younger generation alcoholics makes sense considering their future work life’s. They already have a perfect example of what happened when everyone’s an alcoholic it’s called the uk weatherspoons on Friday

[@mookiestewart3776]

i lived in south lake tahoe CA for years and worked as a chef for 7 of those years at a resort. Its a casino resort town right on the border of CA and Nevada so bars were open 24/7 I ended up moving because i couldn't take the constant drinking and drug use of LITERALY the entire community lmao. Japan is going down a slippery slope with this one, they dont know what they're asking for

[@lucygirl1111]

especially Boris Johnson

[@internetshortscomp5810]

nah, Japan's drug laws are draconian so they got that covered

[@oyveyshalom]

@@internetshortscomp5810 In what way draconian?

[@Dregomz02]

@@oyveyshalom you will lose your job and friends if you get caught with drugs and ofc go to jail and then you may as well end homeless since nobody would want to hire you. They could benefit from psychodelics to treat depression and use marihuana/mdma to treat people with anxiety but nah they are prohibited better take unproved big pharma useless pills, that sure will help you.

[@JeffDvrx]

Japan: "we have the most disciplined, respectful and polite population on earth" Also Japan: *"I COMMAND YOU TO MAKE MISTAKES"*

[@randomthing9712]

So you saying drink some wine/holy water is wrong?

[@kaischreurs2488]

@@randomthing9712 it's unhealthy that's for sure.

[@randomthing9712]

@@kaischreurs2488 no, if you didn't do it extremely, some wine after a hard work together with friends aren't that bad, you realize right? That Japan is hard working individualisme country. Little wine wouldn't do much, but make people together. What could go wrong. Look at Europe and USA, they drink a lot, and look at them, but a good place to live

[@kaischreurs2488]

@@randomthing9712 it's still unhealthy, it doesn't have to immediately cause problems but even in normal/small amounts it's better not to drink. I know europe is a good place to live (still depends a bit on what country but generally it is) cause I live there, people drinking alcohol if fine and all but actively promoting something that at best is unhealthy and at worst has ruined millions of lives is just stupid.

[@randomthing9712]

@@kaischreurs2488 hmmmm, so you didn't drink but live in Europe, so what are you then, a refugee from middle east. Owh Well it was your life anyway to choose not to drink, not me.

[@takebacktheholyland9306]

turns ZUN was actually singlehandedly improving the country with his drinking habits

[@alyssafoster1820]

when I was younger I had my mind dead set on moving to japan once I graduated college. Now that I actually have graduated college and I learn more and more about japan, I’m not sure if I can actually picture myself living there lol

[@DanaToony]

I just had vivid flashbacks to the pandemic where, in my country Mexico, price of beer went up and it was called dry law for a while and the whole north half of the place went BAT SHIT and couple of weeks/months (I dont remember tbh) trucks full of beer made their come back and people went out CLAPPING as if they were doctors or some shit so... I don't know bout you guys...

[@melelconquistador]

Crudos

[@DanielGonzalez-vo5ni]

My whole family would've been out there clapping too

[@BknMoonStudios]

Greetings from a fellow Mexican! 😎👍🇲🇽 Yeah, there's a serious alcoholism problem in this country. I live in the state of Aguascalientes, and people look forward to the weekend JUST to get drunk without having to worry about the next day.

[@DanaToony]

@@BknMoonStudios Mexican bruh moment Quisiera decir que no son mis primos peeeeero...

[@lethaldream50]

my memory is hazy but i think there was a BRIEF thing where some random US state considered banning alcohol during the peak first wave (2020) of the pandemic. i remember reading about it but none of the details since it was not my state. anyway what i do remember is that consideration did NOT last long

[@DeathByRadish]

The more or these videos you make it surprises me more and more how out of touch with reality the Japanese government is. And I thought my country was bad. Godspeed Japan o7

[@ajinkyatarodekar9099]

As someone said in a different comment, they have personified the meme, "it hurt itself in confusion".

[@TheWolfgangGrimmer]

"out of touch government" is a tautology.

[@Oreochan42]

This legit boggles my mind. Why on earth is the government trying to prop up and do the alcohol industries advertising for them? Shouldnt this stuff be up to each business to try and figure out how to attract more business?

[@ColumnBlack]

You be surprised how many politicians have big businesses supporting their campaigns in exchange for later governmental help, and you be surprised how much bad stuff companies are willing to do to increase their profits. Likely their hands were tied to encourage alcoholism, because sake is big business in japan.

[@Oreochan42]

@@ColumnBlack oh i dont doubt that, but at least here in America that normally takes the form of business getting tax breaks etc, you would never see the government taking up the charge to get more people to buy more cars or buy more pizza. That is always seen to be the business's problem to attract more buyers

[@kungfuyogui]

@@Oreochan42 maybe they don't do it so upfront, but they still pass laws or don't that favor those companies ( example big pharma ) which I think is worst.

[@19billdong96]

Japan: “let’s boost economy by drinking more!” Person with a brain: “what about the cost of a countrywide health decline?” Japan: “consequences? What are those?!”

[@Tomp4ul]

Honestly, this just kinda reminds me of the sort of thing we were having to deal with in the UK with 'eat out to help out' and other short-sighted schemes which ultimately didn't help, for exactly the reason you mention a lot - It doesn't address the root of the problem at all. It's attempting to battle symptoms, not address causes, which is often a losing battle before you even start down that route.

[@yourdissapointeddaddy2057]

Japan should just start encouraging more Japanese companies to sell it’s domestic products internationally if it wants to restart its economy without opening its borders

[@soasertsus]

The problem is that, most Japanese companies simply can't effectively sell to a global market, and the reason goes straight back to the same root causes as all their other problems. No one in Japan can speak English well enough to do business overseas effectively. They can't fix the education system to improve that situation because they refuse to stop being so rigid. Foreign professionals don't want to work in Japan because of the shit pay and horrid working conditions, but they can't fix that either because they refuse to stop being so rigid. Inefficient business practices and outdated technology make it very difficult for Japanese companies to compete in the global market, but again this can't be fixed because they won't stop being rigid. This is a problem that Japanese economists and probably the government are well aware of and which is discussed quite a lot in the media here and such, but nothing effective has been done about it, nothing most likely will be done about it, and I'm not even sure anything can be done about it at this point. The most that ever happens are bullshit ideas like the ones in the video that make it look like the government is doing something but don't have any effect, the only two real choices are Japan needs to accept radical cultural change to actually address the core issues which are the root cause of all the things rotting the country from the inside or they will simply slowly fade into irrelevancy and die.

[@yourdissapointeddaddy2057]

@@soasertsus I agree Japanese old people are stubborn and despise change

[@Elmithian]

​@@soasertsus Sounds like Japan could do with an occupation... minus the bombs and horrible casualties this time around preferably. I don't want influence from outside to ruin the nicer part of the culture. But there is culture and then there is stagnation. If an aspect of your culture is causing stagnation you likely should throw that aspect out and burn it.

[@meganheartswell]

@@soasertsus foreigners who have worked in japan talk about how inefficient the work is. Chris from abroad in Japan said that even though he finished his work early he couldn't go home at a normal time. He was expected to stay until the boss was done. Even if he sat there playing with a pencil.

[@tallspoon0224]

円安なんだなぁ... yen value goes down recently...

[@Fried-Tofu]

Glad you're talking about this, I actually read a few articles that popped up in my news feed over the last week regarding the campaign and I think one other thing to point out is how dangerous this is to former alchoholics or those prone to falling into it. In the articles I mentioned I saw accounts of people who said that they were able to overcome or were basically forced to quit consuming large quantities of alcohol because of the pandemic. Possibly one of the few good things that occurred because of the pandemic/lockdowns, and now you may be asking those same people "Hey, there's this show/event going down your friends are going to but it's probably the worst place for a recovering alcoholic. Come on down, you'll be fine."

[@Pooky1991]

First time I've heard a country encouraging people to drink alcohol. Part of me have a hard time believing this is true, but the same time I've seen plenty of stuff I thought were from The Onion that turned out true.

[@V01DIORE]

Ever heard of what the Russians tzars did? Though probably for a different purpose here it’s quite insidious nevertheless.

[@lethaldream50]

at this point the onion is just a website that predicts real things that will happen

[@cattysplat]

@@V01DIORE The USSR also bought up all the vodka factories to produce cheap vodka, so even starving people could afford to get drunk when there was no bread to eat.

[@bond2507]

These daily uploads are sooo good, appreciate the extra effort as always great joey channel video 🇮🇪

[@jamescanjuggle]

🇮🇪

[@ArdanaMI]

The leaders of Japan today are the ones experiencing their youth in the 70s~80s, which means they experienced the result of a sudden rise of economy and felt it for a long time before the bubble. I mean, it's like giving a bunch of rich kids who were born rich and spoiled by their parents, a high position in their parents company.

[@BanksySCII]

Souichiro Honda wouldn't give his son a position at Honda. His son instead went and made the tuner company Mugen granted it was Honda cars he did make parts and work on probably did at some point did get some kind of discount though for cars that he worked on. But he didn't get to be the next CEO of Honda.

[@naliboi93]

In the UK one of the flavours of economic panic during and shortly after COVID/lockdowns was due to the service industry - pubs, bars, nightclubs basically not having any of their usual income. If fact, it seemed these establishments were almost being prioritised with all sorts of seemingly mental gymnastics (at least looking as an outsider as someone that doesn't drink). For better or worse, drinking culture is big business and is intrinsic in UK culture, and the service industry is the biggest industry in UK. After dinner drinks/socials/drinks with the mates is pretty standard. Its shockingly easy to end up being left out or forgotten during social, business, or other gatherings if you don't drink. Its the standard option for any "social" for work or university. Lol we even have "pub crawls" in UK, where the aim is to go pub to pub (usually drinking) as a night out. It's especially huge in University cities. Also part of the service industry; hotels got a nasty hit too so establishments adjacent to usual pubs, bars, and restaurants also suffered (fewer guests, fewer people using their bars, etc.) I can kind of see the Japanese govt angle here, given that the service industry and drinking culture is probably massive business in Japan, too. Not entirely sure if it's the sole saviour to their economic troubles, and in fact this industry (like many others) would probably be doing far better when the financial environment surrounding them is doing well and everyone has more disposable income.

[@cattysplat]

European drinking/drunk culture is not something any country should be trying to replicate, it causes countless problems for generations.

[@li.v4388]

I couldn't believe this when I saw it on Instagram lol, it's honestly pathetic to see how this is the country's solution to their problems

[@BrodieGH]

It amazes me how a country that helped build the technological age (a good chunk of technology came from Japan.) Yet, they are struggling to understand the root of their problems and fix them, Japan's supposed to be a brilliant country, but over the past 2 years, they have shown their inability to solve issues like this.

[@gordieparenteau6555]

The people in positions of power are stuck in the 1980's. Instead of moving forwards, their default position is always to go backwards. It's maddening. So many of us fell in love with Japan because it was a bright colourful place, full of new bold, daring ideas, pushing the limits of what was possible, always seeming to be lightyears ahead of everyone else. Ever since the 1990's, Japan has regressed. They've retreated inwards. They stopped being bold and innovative and stopped trying to be a global leader, while other countries like China and Korea have left them behind in the dust. They've become the world's Hikkikimori.

[@sk00pidis]

Unfortunately Japan places too much respect on their elder leaders without any merit...These people are comicly playing dumb and trying to fix issues by almost certainly creating another. Meanwhile their miserable overworked and hopeless workforce is reaching it's breaking point and the issue is never ever getting addressed for decades...

[@CapitanBreakfast]

Thank you for being open and transparent regarding an obvious issue, I hope your stance will encourage more speakers to be more vocal and less diplomatic-cowardly. If there's something we badly, badly need, is more straight to the point, vocal banner bearers that would highlight issues and force our overlords into retrospection and action.

[@OfficialDugu]

13:50 - Say less. Got my mouse over the plane ticket purchase on standby, waiting for the second they allow us in.

[@swordsman1_messer]

I’m certain there are people who have similar takes on this story. But as you and other Japan YTers have stated, Japan has this idea of communal harmony, where dissent and individualism aren’t appreciated or even discriminated. If anything, I’d say the government needs to understand that times are changing, and they need to prime the younger generations to plan for the future, rather than preserve the present.

[@anothy7228]

I think that Japan has an issue with admitting that it was one of the countries that overreacted to covid and now does not want to lose face by opening back. We gotta remember that Japan is very risk-averse on average for both demographic and cultural reasons at the government level, so if the government actually decides to just open back up to tourism and foreigners coming in and out of the country on business, lowering restrictions and regulations on domestic businesses to cut costs etc. you're going to upset alot of these older/middle aged people who have been gaslit over the last few years into thinking their lives are constantly in danger if they see a foreigner who may or may not have covid.

[@adrian482]

Yeah I think you have a point here. Most of the COVID border restrictions situation has been weird because of politics. The elections really politicized any moves made regarding border restrictions and COVID-related rules.

[@rp-wn5or]

They DO have a historic record of not admitting to wrongdoings **AHEM WW2** COUGH COUGH**

[@p_1945]

population density in many metropolitan (which most of it is engine to run japan economy) are too high and with that it some too risk get people infect a lot in kind of japan health care can not handle it anyway , in my opinion they should be more consider to more depopulated people in major city in some measure like move some company office to medium size city etc.

[@Kikan319]

@@rp-wn5or Same goes with the US in that regards and all the way up until now. lol

[@rp-wn5or]

@@Kikan319 true! but at least the US is willing to adapt to the times by having a meritocracy, even if they ignore the past/wrongdoings. Japan unfortunately does neither. It sucks because the Japanese used to be a powerhouse BECAUSE they realized the past ways of life wasn’t gonna work (aka post war era and up till the 80s)

[@kindred6453]

Look at joey being a good Japanese citizen by buying and drinking his share of alcohol.

[@nettune9980X]

Absolutely agree with you dude! And even if on it’s own, it’s like their drunk and or high.

[@Sjiras]

So, 11 months later, how did this video age?

[@emeraldgreen1973]

"To Alcohol! The cause of and solution to all of life’s problems” - Homer Simpson

[@directoryman]

I have always loved this quote lol

[@randomthing9712]

Yo, it's a holy water

[@AlfredoMagbual]

honestly, with what i know about japanese culture and the social aspect, i think most people will follow whatever it is the mass audience decides

[@shydx2010]

I got you Japan. Here's the ad. Galaxy-brain AI hologram: "I have the combined knowledge of the entire human race and know everything that there is or can be!" A technician spills a big-brand name sake bottle on a microchip control board, and *BOOM*! The AI system has turned into a TI-82 with "58008" on the screen.

[@anthonynelson6671]

I wonder how many of the submitted ideas will be tie-ins for the Metaverse?

[@jama211]

Perfect

[@bernardocardoso1356]

You are an inspiration, Joey, sacrificing your liver for your country. I salute you!

[@leone9745]

Glad to see your WTF JAPAN series still going strong

[@PDGY77]

As someone that's lived in Japan for 6 years now and during the entire pandemic, i'm not shocked by this at all....First it was the "Go to travel" campaign. Like legit promoting traveling during the pandemic and now this lol... As for social distancing, that seems to be something I rarely see actually happening. They will go to bars or go to events and concerts still/ They just CANNOT not go get drunk and look at the cherry blossoms in big groups etc. Also how many times have they tried to blame it on foreigners or Americans? They had that one PSA about that lady talking into a tissue and they are like LOOK bc english words use more air it spread more covid! like bruh.. you can say the same word foreign or japanese and can control how much air you use.

[@lordofgraphite]

The gov: oh the tax is to increase health of the country 👀 Also the gov: guys... why are you drinking less??...

[@icehoof]

"Why am I drinking at 10 in the morning? I am serving my country" Man, I wish I knew it was that easy before I enlisted, that sounds like a much better choice

[@mercurybby]

I don't know why seeing Aki as his lockscreen was so cute, yet funny. 🤣💕

[@barkon]

I'm doing my part for Japan's economy from Vermont! My fave whisky is Suntory Toki and I've always got some on the shelf

[@unofficial_gamer6813]

They company want you to find any differences. Japan : Claim if young people drink more local alcohol will help their economy. American : Claim mental illness come from liking video game and anime. They are the same picture.

[@alexander1989x]

Increase salaries, give more maternity leave, force people into paid holidays: NOPE! Come up with the most half-assed ideas you can possible concieve: My job here is fu*king done!

[@traplover6357]

Japanese govenrment: Help transition bars to slightly different businesses as trends change? Nah, let's keep the older business.

[@ryujin199_]

Agreed on marketing the all you can drink culture. Even in the places where you have to pay for each drink, it's often cheaper than equivalent drinks in the US (even before we factor in the cratering value of the JPY over the past year... REASONS WHY I RETURNED TO THE USA...). A hella nice Yakiniku dinner with several beers would typically run 5000-10000JPY where I was at (Fukuoka), while a similar meal where I'm at now would be $100-$300 USD. I feel like a fucking chump for moving back to the US, and if I could go back 6 months, I would've just stuck around in Japan for another year or more.

[@crazy137788]

Live in Shiga and me and 2 of my friends took pictures of all the GO TO signs we came across. It was a really fun time.

[@Crimsontears83]

I love Japan. I don't plan on leaving Japan unless something crazy happens. For me personally it is just better than my time living in the States. That being said, this is the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time. There really needs to be some new blood in the government and buisness to get some of these really blind ignorant people out.

[@lyuuy7477]

a foreigner shouldnt comment on how Japan is run.

[@peterpan4038]

There is only one place that allows "new blood" to enter japanese politics: the hospital. Cause even old school japanese politicians need a a blood transfusion or two after certain operations/ accidents.

[@ElderNewt]

If I heard a government tell it's people " You need to drink to save your country" I would of 100% thought.. yeah, that's the aussie way. But. This boi is wrong lol. WTF Japan *Ding*

[@anthonynelson6671]

It's a perfect example of meme culture: The attention: "What Japan doing?" instead of The Problem: "How the Japan doing?"

[@mr.pockets8523]

@@anthonynelson6671 "how the Japan doing?" Answer: not well. Drunk and poor

[@anthonynelson6671]

@@mr.pockets8523 :/ sadness

[@sleepychibi]

I feel like this pandemic has really brought out so many of these "quick fixes". Every time something happens it feels like Japan goes "oh?oh! Uhh...do this I guess and we'll figure it out later." And then it never gets figured out later.

[@siliconhawk]

temporary solutions are the most permanant solution

[@Ashley80005]

Yeah, I agree with you Joey. Wow, it’s a really stupid idea, they should let the foreigners in and let the foreigners pick up some of the slack of drinking…they totally would. This whole you can only enter our country with a tour group idea, and then this…holy crap WTF Japan!

[@Itzak15]

Thank you for helping us fixing the economy with the Asahi! :D

[@maxcchiru]

I think it'd be interesting to add japanese subs to these videos (or make basically the same thing completely in japanese) and see how big of an audience there is for things like this in Japan.

[@weeguy52]

Japan: we're in the sh!t so drink more to solve our problems 10 years later Japan: we've got even more problems

[@Kattsoppa1]

My father will be calling me tomorrow about our trip to Japan that we have been planning for a while.. Sadly I will have to inform him that the only trips to Japan that are allowed right now are toured trips, so we won't be going to Japan at all. 6000-7000$, that we won't be spending in Japan.

[@sin_totoro6924]

Ain't that alcohol free 😅

[@SlyDullahan]

I actually read that exact article the other day and was like "What the hell? How will that help? haha clearly leaving foreigners/Tourists into the country to boost the tourism industry and helping the economy is clearly not the answer....Alcohol with AI is the truth we all need". I thought it was a fake ass Clickbait Article too when first saw it. I was talking to my parents the other day too about it and you said the exact same as us. Also, you know it's a stupid Idea when we are disagreeing with it and we're bloody Irish haha. I'm traveling to Japan in October with a Tour Group so regardless of any stupid rules they are enforcing I'm looking forward to finally seeing Japan. 2020 might have been cancelled but 2022 is the year. I'm Really Excited :). Cool Vid and very informative as always Joey.