Japanese national survey of adolescent drinking behavior in 1996

Despite legal prohibition of drinking by minors, there has been no systematic attempt to monitor drinking by young Japanese. This research, the first Japanese national survey of Japanese adolescent drinking behaviors, was conducted in 1996.

In this survey, information on drinking frequency was obtained from questionnaires completed by 42,183 junior high school and 72,396 senior high school students in randomly selected schools representing all areas of Japan.

Sixty percent of junior high school students and 70% of senior high school students reported having drinking experiences; 5% of junior high school students and 10% of senior high school students drank one or more times per week. Many of the junior high school students usually drank with their families and consumed small amounts, but many of senior high school students drank on various occasions and consumed larger amounts. These Japanese high school students reported being offered alcohol frequently by their parents, found it easy to buy alcoholic beverages, and believed that they had the right to determine whether to drink. Japanese adolescents' drinking has increased over the past 20 years, whereas drinking by U.S. adolescents has decreased.

Japanese policies aimed at decreasing adolescent drinking are inadequate. A system for monitoring and potentially modifying adolescent drinking behavior is needed.