I’m Saito, a column writer♪
If a man already knows a woman’s age when making the offer, why would he encourage her to drink?
Men like that are best avoided.
A man who can’t follow the rules is also lacking in manners.
Actually, that man has no manners at all.
Maezawa answers.
> If he offers me alcohol, should I make sure to write in the post-date survey that he offered me alcohol even though I’m underage?
Yes, please make sure you report it clearly.
Japan seems to be fairly tolerant of alcohol, and for some reason, many adults seem to think the rules don’t really need to be followed. That may be why some men offer alcohol, but it is prohibited by law, so you must not drink.
If you provide the club with clear feedback, the club will take appropriate action.
For example, if a man drives under the influence, he will be immediately expelled from the club because he has committed a legal violation.
So, is offering alcohol itself against the law?
Looking at the Minor Drinking Prohibition Act, the relevant provision seems to be that a minor’s parents or other persons acting in a supervisory capacity have a duty to prevent the minor from drinking.
However, the man you’re on a date with is neither your parent nor someone acting in a supervisory capacity. So this law probably would not apply to him.
But what if he didn’t merely offer it, and kept saying, “Drink, drink,” forcing you to do so even though you clearly didn’t want to?
In that case:
- It seems that this could constitute coercion.
Not long ago, a customer who made a store employee kneel and bow was taken away on suspicion of coercion. (It may have been an arrest.)
The customer merely told the employee to kneel and bow, and the employee complied, but the coercion charge was still applied.
Likewise, if a man tells someone to drink and she drinks voluntarily, but has clearly said she doesn’t want to, I think the same charge could apply.
That would mean the man had committed a criminal act, allowing the club to expel him.
That said, he may not realize that what he did was criminal, so it’s difficult to say whether one incident alone would result in immediate expulsion. However, if he did it twice, I believe he would definitely be expelled.
There’s also this:
If he gives her alcohol with the intention of getting her drunk from the outset—potentially causing acute alcohol poisoning, for example—it seems that this could constitute bodily injury.
There may be men looking for women who can drink alcohol with them, but since everyone’s actual age is clearly listed, they can simply make an offer to an adult woman.
