Older Japanese women are boozing more than ever, according to a new survey conducted by Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The study found that while binge drinking by men decreased over the last ten years in all age groups, the percentage of women in their 40s, and especially those in their 50s, drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol, has shot up. For the latter cohort the figures were particularly alarming: 9 per cent a decade ago and 17 per cent now.
Public displays of drunkenness are not especially frowned upon
Why would this be? The most popular theory is that life for many middle-aged women has simply become much more stressful in recent years as a result of heavy-handed and perhaps ill thought through government efforts to get a more gender balanced workforce. The Equal Opportunity Employment Act of 1986 banned gender discrimination in the workplace, while late PM Shinzo Abe administration introduced measures to boost the economy through increased female employment.
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