Drinking Culture (Nomikai) in Decline

Drinking Culture (Nomikai) in Decline describes how Japan's after-work drinking gatherings lost their near-mandatory status without disappearing. If you work at a Japanese firm, you will still be invited, and knowing when to go, how to decline, and what replaces the ritual matters more than knowing how to drink.¹²

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).

Overview

A 飲み会 (nomikai, "drinking gathering") is an after-work social event where colleagues eat and drink together, usually at an 居酒屋 (izakaya, "Japanese pub") or restaurant outside the office hierarchy.¹² The related coinage 飲みニケーション (nominikeshon, "building communication through drinking") captures the theory behind it: shared drinks loosen formal constraints so juniors and seniors speak more openly.¹²

That theory still circulates, but the practice has receded. Company year-end and New Year party implementation fell from 78.4% in 2019 to 59.6% in 2024 (as of 2024; confirm current figures with Tokyo Shoko Research).¹² In a 2024 Nippon Life survey, 56.4% of workers called nominication unnecessary (as of 2024), the highest share on record in that series.² Yet when a gathering is actually held, invited employees still show up at high rates, averaging 87.9% attendance (as of 2025).²

These norms are national. What varies is not ward or nationality but employer type, sector, and department, so read every claim below as a nationwide pattern with firm-level exceptions.

What Nomikai Were For

Workplace drinking parties spread as a communication practice during the 1960s high-growth period, and the word nominication first appeared in the media in the 1980s.¹ At their peak from the 1970s through the 1990s, publisher syntheses describe nomikai as practically mandatory, with attendance tied to perceptions of loyalty and team spirit.³

The after-work venue

Classic occasions are the year-end 忘年会 (bonenkai, "forget-the-year party"), the New Year 新年会 (shinnenkai, "New Year party"), the 歓迎会 (kangeikai, "welcome party for a new member"), the 送別会 (sobetsukai, "farewell party for a departing member"), project celebrations, and ad hoc team rounds.¹² Groups gather at an izakaya or restaurant, sometimes in small clusters at a local counter, and the evening often continues to a 二次会 (nijikai, "afterparty at a second venue") and occasionally a 三次会 (sanjikai, "third-venue continuation").²³

The organizer role is the 幹事 (kanji, "organizer who arranges the venue and collects payment").² Events open with a brief speech and a collective 乾杯 (kanpai, "cheers, the opening toast"), and no one eats or drinks before that signal.²³

The communication function

The stated function is cross-hierarchy informal talk. In a group-oriented workplace that values harmony, the izakaya offers what the meeting room does not: juniors address seniors directly, personal topics surface, and working relationships deepen.¹² Official business-travel guidance describes the same underlying norm in general terms, noting that Japanese business culture is hierarchical and relationship-driven and that social practice signals long-term commitment.⁴

The concept maps to 建前 (tatemae, "public-facing behavior") versus 本音 (honne, "private true feelings").² The nomikai was traditionally framed as the venue where that gap narrows. Hierarchy does not vanish there, though. Juniors pour for seniors first, often with two hands, and hold their glass lower than a superior when clinking.¹²

The Post-2020 Decline

The pandemic halted nomikai through much of 2020 to 2021. After restrictions ended, many firms did not fully revive them, citing low demand and employee reluctance.¹³ The year-end and New Year party rate stood almost 20 percentage points below its pre-COVID baseline (as of 2024; confirm current figures with Tokyo Shoko Research).¹²

COVID as accelerator, not sole cause

COVID accelerated a shift that was already forming around private time, cost, and health. JILPT's 8th Survey on Working Life, fielded in September to October 2021 with 2,388 respondents, found 73.4% of workers expected the post-COVID work environment to change substantially (as of 2021).⁵ Commentators link non-recovery to diversified work styles and sharper separation of job and private life, not to infection rules alone.¹

Health concern adds background pressure across generations. MHLW published its first drinking-health-risk guidelines in February 2024, noting that 20 grams of alcohol (about one 500 ml can of beer) raises colorectal-cancer risk (as of 2024).¹ Treat the guideline detail as publisher-reported until you check the MHLW primary page, but the direction of travel is consistent with falling consumption.

Younger participation and company spending

National per-capita alcohol consumption was 75.4 liters in fiscal 2022, down 25% from 30 years earlier (as of FY2022).¹ Workers who dislike nominication most often say they cannot relax around colleagues or that the evening feels like an extension of work.¹

The generational picture is more mixed than the stereotype suggests. A 2024 Job Soken survey found 68.8% of workers in their twenties wanted to attend a year-end party, against 51.9% in their forties and 40.3% in their fifties (as of 2024).¹ A 2023 Daikokuya survey pointed the same way, with 46% of workers in their twenties and 44% in their thirties saying they liked work drinking parties, compared with 37.6% and 27.6% for workers in their forties and fifties (as of 2023).¹ One publisher synthesis puts workplaces holding any nomikai at about 60% in 2025, down from about 75% in 2017 (as of 2025).³ That last pair is a publisher estimate rather than a named survey series, so read it as direction, not precision.

Money reinforces the drift. Companies subsidize less than before, and pandemic-era entertainment-expense cuts left some official parties employee-paid.¹ Daikokuya respondents reported an average of 17 work drinking parties per year at 4,237 yen each, or about 6,002 yen per month (as of 2023).¹

Item	Amount	As of	Notes
Standard izakaya nomikai, per person	3,000 to 5,000 yen	2026-062	Organizer collects a fixed sum, often cash
Central Tokyo bill with food plus 3 to 4 drinks, per person	4,000 to 8,000 yen	2026-062	Higher end covers year-end and special rounds
Average work drinking party, per event	4,237 yen	20231	Daikokuya survey average across respondents
Mandatory starter (otoshi) cover charge, per person	300 to 500 yen	2026-062	Small dish that functions as a cover charge

The table figures above run from 2023 survey averages to 2026 publisher bands (as of 2023 to 2026; confirm current figures with the cited survey houses). Within that range, the per-event averages are dated 2023 while the standard and central-Tokyo bands are dated 2026-06.¹²

Where Nomikai Persist

The decline is real, and so are the pockets where the ritual holds. State both plainly: most firms hold fewer rounds than before, while specific workplaces still treat attendance as routine.

Sectors and firm types

Nomikai persist most visibly in sales and construction settings, older traditional firms, and certain departments where after-hours bonding remains routine. Surveys quantify the national decline but do not publish sector splits, so treat this pocket list as field-level pattern rather than a measured rate. Demand from employers also persists: around 60% of firms report internal communication problems, and the most chosen remedy is holding or subsidizing eating and drinking gatherings (as of 2025; confirm current figures with the HR Research Institute).¹

What persistence looks like

The surviving calendar centers on bonenkai in December, shinnenkai in January, kangeikai on joining, sobetsukai on leaving, and project celebrations.²³ A standard main round runs about 90 to 120 minutes before participants head home or move to a nijikai.² Skipping the nijikai is socially acceptable with a polite excuse.²

Formats have lightened. Non-alcoholic beer, soft drinks, mocktails, and tea are now standard options, and "smart drinking" venues serve 0%, 0.5%, and 3% tiers for nondrinkers who want the social setting.¹²

Order tea freely and pace with a half-full glass

You can join the kanpai with oolong tea or ginger ale and keep your glass half-full to signal you need no refill. Presence and pouring for others carry the signal, not the alcohol content.²³

How to Handle Invitations

Attendance is formally voluntary at most modern firms, yet frequent skipping still affects relationships. The working rule is simple: show up selectively, decline warmly, and leave early when you need to.²

The diagram above maps the decision this section explains in prose, with citations beside each step.²³

When attendance matters most

Welcome parties held in your honor, farewell parties, and the annual year-end round are the occasions where attendance is most noticed.²³ Declining your own welcome party reads as rude, so treat that one as effectively mandatory.² Occasional attendance at other rounds reads as cooperative, while never attending keeps you out of the informal information flow.²

The cost of consistent decline depends on firm type. Publisher guidance holds that it rarely costs at modern firms but may cost standing at traditional ones. No survey quantifies promotion effects, so weigh your own workplace before adopting a never-attend policy.

How to decline politely

Pair sincere thanks to the organizer with a brief reason such as a prior commitment, a family obligation, or an early start the next day, and add that you hope to join next time.² To leave early, tell the organizer and nearby seniors お先に失礼します (osaki ni shitsurei shimasu, "please excuse me for leaving first") and slip out after the first round.²

Repeated pressure to attend or drink is a harassment signal

Criticism for skipping a party or for not pouring drinks reads as harassment to most workers, with a 2023 Persol Research Institute survey putting that share at nearly 80% (as of 2023; confirm current figures with the Persol Research Institute).¹² MHLW's power-harassment framework covers conduct backed by a superior relationship that exceeds reasonable work scope and harms the work environment, and after-hours venues count where they function as an extension of duties.⁶ Employer prevention duties under the relevant statute have applied to all employers since April 2022.⁷ JILPT analysis includes forced drinking of a low-tolerance worker among the fact patterns the regime addresses.⁷

Alternatives That Replace Nomikai

The function is migrating, not vanishing. Trust and knowledge sharing increasingly move to sober daytime settings rather than disappearing with the drinking round.³

Coffee and lunch meetings

The direct substitutes are short daytime formats: coffee meetings, lunch gatherings, family-restaurant meetups, and food-first events that end early.²³ They include non-drinkers and workers with family or time constraints without requiring late nights.²

Daytime team building

Companies run team lunches, bowling and activity outings, and shorter evening rounds that end by about 21:00 as inclusive substitutes.³ Remote-era teams used online nomikai and virtual happy hours; post-pandemic teams more often shift substantive talk into work-hours channels and keep social events optional.²³

Good to know

You do not need to drink alcohol to attend

Only the joint kanpai is mandatory, and the glass can hold tea or a soft drink. Join the toast, pour for others, and take part in conversation. Colleagues judge presence and engagement, not the alcohol content of your glass.²³

Attendance pressure is now treated as harassment

Criticism for skipping or for not pouring once read as team-spirit enforcement. It now sits inside MHLW's three-element power-harassment definition and the employer prevention duty in force for all employers since April 2022.⁶⁷ The Persol figure above, with nearly 80% disapproval of such criticism (as of 2023; confirm current figures with the Persol Research Institute), shows how far the norm has moved.¹² The operative terms are アルハラ (aru-hara, "alcohol harassment, unwelcome drinking-related pressure") and ノミハラ (nomi-hara, "nomikai harassment, pressure over attendance or drinking").²³

Costs are usually split and add up

The kanji collects a fixed sum before or during the event, and leftovers may fund the next round.² Standard rounds run 3,000 to 5,000 yen per head, with central-Tokyo totals of 4,000 to 8,000 yen plus a 300 to 500 yen otoshi cover (as of 2026-06).² At the Daikokuya average of 4,237 yen per event and 17 events a year, the implied pace is about 6,002 yen per month (as of 2023).¹ Check the budget with the organizer before committing to a full season.

See also

• Overtime, Working Hours, and the 36-Agreement
• Horensho: The Daily Communication Discipline
• Nemawashi and Consensus Decision-Making
• Harassment in the Japanese Workplace: Pawahara, Sekuhara, Matahara

References

Footnotes

1. Nippon.com. "Nominication: Japan's Changing Culture of Company Drinking." 2025-06-20. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b11403/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵

2. MailMate. "Nomikai in Japan Explained: A Simple Guide." Updated 2026-06-18. https://mailmate.jp/blog/nomikai ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹

3. Japan Living Life. "Nomikai Guide: Japan Work Drinking Culture for Foreigners." Published 2026-03-04, updated 2026-09-05. https://japanlivinglife.com/articles/nomikai-work-drinking-japan-guide ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

4. U.S. International Trade Administration. "Japan - Business Travel." Updated 2025-11-18. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/japan-business-travel ↩

5. The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT). Domestic labor info 25-06, "8th Survey on Working Life (2021)." https://www.jil.go.jp/kokunai/reports/report010.html ↩

6. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). "What is power harassment in the workplace." Akarui Shokuba Oendan, foreign-workers English page. https://no-harassment.mhlw.go.jp/foreign_workers_en/1power ↩ ↩²

7. The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT). "The Law to Prevent Power Harassment in Japan." Japan Labor Issues. https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2021/028-04.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³