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Kumiko Nemoto, professor of sociology at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. Drinking with colleagues after work has long been part of Japanese culture. But in some offices, those gatherings have become less frequent as concerns over power harassment grow.
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Forcing people to go to a drinking party is sometimes seen as harassment. In the past, it happened all the time. It was part of normal corporate culture in Japan but now it's seen as power harassment.
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No Business
I go, but there is no pressure to do so. I go because I like eating and drinking with most of my colleagues.
BertieWooster
"They forced me to go to the party! And they forced me to drink huge quantities of alcohol! And they made me sing karaoke totally against my will! They forced me to go to a second party at an Izakaya. They forced me to drink even more! And they made me vomit in the street!"
I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gone?
Toshihiro
How about saying NO. I know how Japanese culture works but if pleasing the many and not being a bother puts you in an inconvenience and a potential health risk, then why put up with it? Sometimes, people just want you to just be there physically, if you don't want to sing, drink or eat, just sit there and bide your time to make a stealthy exit. Life isn't just about work, it's just a part of it we must put up with to fund the other parts of out lives.
wanderlust
Aru-hara, seku-hara, power-hara, and kara-hara.
The Four Harassemen of Japanese Corporate Culture.
The proportions have changed though over the last 10-20 years.
JJ Jetplane
This is what makes it power harrassment. You can't force people to attend. If you're forcing them, it's clear harrassment.
kohakuebisu
Forcing people to drink is harassment. Expecting them to attend the occasional company function like a bonenkai is not. Provided that they are occasional that is.
Simon Foston
It's funny how they call such events "drinking parties" here. Like the only reason for them is for alcoholic salarymen to sit in izakayas chugging beer, sake, shochu and whisky until they all fall over.
Wellington
As many posters here have pointed out, forcing any employee to go to a company-sponsored party is close to harassment.
But, Japan is still Japan and going out with "Minna" once in a while isn't going to kill you. After all it is free booze (if you choose to drink) and free food on the company's dime. Nowadays there are many non-alcoholic alternatives. So go and have fun!!
The thing that should be abolished is the "Nijikai" (party after party).