Sip, Savor, and Save: Japan Brews Up Beer Bonanza with Flavorful Discounts and Business Boosts!

In Japan, some 4,600 supermarket goods have increased in price this month as a result of the food and beverage industry’s continued cost-passing amid a once-in-a-generation inflation surge.

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But one noteworthy exception is beer. Due to adjustments made to the nation’s tax structure, a 350-milliliter can of beer now costs consumers around 7 yen (5 cents) less than it did in October. Cheaper beer, though, is not a political ruse. Instead, it’s a long overdue revision to Japan’s complex alcohol tax, which has for years encouraged brewers to prioritize subpar goods.

It might seem odd to reduce taxes on alcohol while many countries are imposing minimum prices or lifting levies, something the World Health Organization says could save thousands of lives a year. But for Japan, this is actually a beneficial change, meant to improve government coffers and the quality of the country’s brews. At the same time as the tax on “real” beer is being lowered, the rate is rising for cheaper, lower-quality substitutes that have come to dominate the market over the past three decades.

Coincidentally, this also comes at a crucial time in the country’s battle with a deflationary mindset that has sapped its global competitiveness. The government emerged from Covid-19 realising that it’s in danger of slipping into a middle-income economy. That was likely on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s mind when he last week called for “a historical shift from the long-standing cost-cutting economy of the past 30 years.”