Carded!

I have never been carded while buying alcohol in Japan.  Until today.

The drinking age is 20, the age of majority.  The driving age is 18 and the voting age was was reduced from 20 to 18 in 2016.  That said, there is not much of an underage drinking problem.

The first time I studied at Yamasa, there was a beer vending machine (!) outside a liquor store, near the dormitory where I stayed.  A convenience store (Mini Stop) has since been built mere footsteps away from the dorm, and the vending machine is gone.  Whether that is part of a policy to control what little underage drinking there is, or the machine's market dried up when the convenience store opened, I don't know.

I've bought beer, sake, plum wine, wine, whisky and assorted canned fruity adult beverages each time that I've come to Japan.  You can drink on trains (but might be frowned at if you're on an ordinary car on a commuter train), in parks, etc.  You absolutely should NEVER drink and drive, or drink and pedal for that matter.

But I've never been carded.  I've never seen anyone get carded.  Until today.  I bought a can of Kirin lager beer (not bad!), and was asked to tap the "Yes" button on the screen that asked if I was at least 20 years old.  I predict that as this takes off, it will be like buying beer in Wisconsin -- you will get carded even if you are very obviously way older than the minimum drinking age.  Luckily, I didn't have to produce an ID to prove it.

It's sad to see irresponsibility on the part of a few create inconvenience for the rest of us.  I suppose this is to gently ease me back to the way it's done back home -- where I'll be in less than a month.