A Sober Younger Generation Gives Japan a Hangover: Gearoid Reidy

The Machiavellian ruler in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, Lord Vetinari, once compared taxation to dairy farming. “The task,” he said, “is to extract the maximum amount of milk with the minimum of moo.”

Japan’s tax agency is learning this lesson the hard way. It’s found itself with an unexpectedly large amount of moo after a seemingly innocent campaign to support local industry went viral. The problem was that the sector in question was the alcohol business; the agency is soliciting open-ended ideas from young people for ways to help revitalize the nation’s liquor trade, amid a decline in drinking among younger people.

Tax revenue from alcohol ...