"Japanese are less at risk of liver disease?"

According to the International Center for Alcohol Policies, alcohol consumption guidelines for Japan state that both men and women are advised to consume no more than 19.75 to 39.5 grams of pure ethanol a day. If you look at the table below, that’s more AND less than most other countries…

Table 19.1 Recommendations on Drinking Levels1

Country Recommendations

Men Women
Australia 40 g/day or 280 g/week 20 g/day or 140 g/week
Czech Republic 24 g/day 16 g/day
Finland 165 g/week 110 g/week
Italy 24-36 g/day 12-24 g/day
Japan 19.75-39.5 g/day
Netherlands 39 g/day 39 g/day
New Zealand 60 g/day or 210g/week40 g/day or 140 g/week
South Africa 252 g/week 168 g/week
Sweden 20g/day
UK 32 g/day or 168 g/week 24 g/day or 112 g/week
US 42 g/day or 196 g/week 28 g/day or 98 g/week

Drunken SantaAnd according to the American Journal of Human Genetics, normal Japanese people are at a lower risk of developing alcoholic liver diseases than the “usual Caucasian types,” so technically, this season of Bonenkai and Shinenkai are fine for Japanese people but for the “Caucasian types”, perhaps a little caution is needed. However, saying that, I don’t think the staff at J@pan Inc are worried – although looking at the state of them after the Christmas party, perhaps they should be!