By presenting the paradoxical case of Japan this study aims to highlight the importance of cross-cultural data to understanding different drinking patterns. Why is it that a country with high alcohol availability does not present higher figures of consumption? Why is it that Japanese youth, who can buy their alcohol even from vending machines, do not engage in heavier drinking than they apparently do? Does Japan teach Western countries a lesson in this regard?
Methods and Data
The discussion is based on data from the WHO Alcohol Database together with different survey-based studies undertaken in Japan. These empirical data are connected to general literature on Japanese culture and Japanese society.
Results and Conclusions
The data presented confirm the importance of analysing the cultural dimension when studying drinking patterns. Even though structural variables regarding availability are significant in explaining alcohol consumption, cross-cultural data alert us to the importance of including cultural values in our analyses. Japan does possibly represent a ‘deviant case’ regarding alcohol research, thus confirming this perspective. It is neither possible, nor desirable, to transplant collectivistic Japanese values into Western countries. However, we can ask what might be the Western functional equivalent to Japanese group control. Counteracting the increasing age-based segmentation in Western societies is perhaps the most potent answer to this question.
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