Japan has a message for its young adults: Drink more alcohol

Japanese officials, worried about shifting demographics and a sharp decline in sin tax revenue, have come up with an unusual fix for their fiscal woes: encouraging young people to drink more.

“Sake Viva!” — a contest run by the nation’s tax agency — is calling on people ages 20 to 39 to come up with “business plans” to help revive Japan’s drinking culture, long an integral part of corporate life in the East Asian nation.