China is the same way, BIG drinking culture, and very hard to do business if you don't drink or smoke.��It's easier to get out of smoking than drinking though.��Feigning a medical condition is also the best way to not drink in China.��Drinking things like tea, coffee and alcohol is forbidden when taking traditional medicine, so you can always say you're sick, and most people will respect it. But you can only use that excuse for so long, haha.

Even what is considered alcoholism is different over here in Asia. In China most men drink beer with lunch. If you walk into the office smelling of alcohol in the middle of the day in the States you'll be in trouble. You can even drink beer with breakfast over here. It might get you a few strange looks, but no one would say you have problem.

That's true to a certain degree in Japan. When I was a teacher there, I remember a few teachers that would come to school still red-faced and reeking of alcohol from the night before. It was never hidden, and they might say "Oh, I was out way too late drinking last night" before a nap at their desk.

I also would see women going shopping on weekdays sharing beers at 10AM before they start their quest for sales.

holy crap.....my cousin (real) has gone to Japan and has made friends there and invited them to his wedding last year and obviously weddinng= champagne/ wine/ beer well one of them end up falling off the chair while sitting down.......hows that for drunk

Well, I ever drink beer with my breakfast and all people who met me look at me strangely :p

X_X sry but eeeeeeewwwww

No cultural taboos about women drinking in Japan? Many Chinese women still don't drink or smoke, but that's changing now.

Drinking to the point of excess isn't really frowned upon much over here. If you go to a bar you often see people being carried out by friends. Vomit filled toilets is also a common sight. I've even had people next to me in restaurants throw up all over the floor (in China).

My Japanese classmate and friend went to a Chinese wedding with his Chinese girlfriend. By the end of the night both of them had passed out at least once, and the Chinese woman he went with lost her purse along with everything inside of it. He said he drank more than 2 bottles of wine to himself that night, not to mention the beer and baijiu (Chinese sake). If you're the person getting married it's worse, you have to drink with everyone that comes. That means downing a full glass of whatever they have at the table you're visiting.

This was in the middle of the day, in a mall, while husbands are at work...

It's not something I saw everyday, but wasn't all that shocking. (though I would fall asleep by lunch if I had a beer at 10am)

But still, probably not as bad a China. The hangups about smoking still exist, but lots of women I knew smoked publicly. I knew a couple that hid it from their husbands...though "hiding" in Japan means "don't do in front of".

i don't think that getting all shit faced is frowned upon anywhere. when you think about it, beer, cigarettes, and caffiene are probably the most overused legal vices.

raverboy