Beer In Japan - Part 4
More uniqueness
Closer inspection of Japan’s wide range of canned and bottled beers reveals a couple of other unique attributes relating to packaging. Firstly, the country’s helpful attitude towards visually-impaired people(1) is evident on the top of all beer cans in the form of a Braille character next to the ring pull. This is to warn them that the can contains alcohol, so you can’t trick visually-impaired people into getting drunk (spoilsport breweries!).
Secondly, the Japanese obsession with eigo (English language) and perception that romaji (the Roman alphabet used in English language) is cool is manifested in ‘English’ slogans on beer cans and bottles. As with so much Japanese English used in advertising and marketing, conveying a message with widely-understood words takes precedence over natural usage or grammar. This results in an assortment of slogans which serve the purpose of targeting Japanese drinkers well, but sound a little odd to native speakers of English or contain glaring mistakes. Some examples:
A poetic attempt, although I’m not quite sure what ‘everywhere beer’ means.
‘Let yourself go’ sounds like a euphemism for getting wasted, a suggestion not usually found on beer cans, and perhaps not the most ideal way to enjoy the best moments in life either.
Aside from the ‘s’ missing from the name of the beer, it looks like somebody accidentally typed ‘aroma hops’ twice when they designed the can.
They remembered the ’s’ in the name of this beer, but mistakenly stuck an apostrophe in there too. Apparently Malt’s ‘brings you a real sense of fulfillment’, although whether you’ll feel ‘fulfilled’ when you wake up the following morning after drinking a six-pack of the stuff is debatable.
Notes
(1) - This helpfulness is also evident in the extensive use of tactile paving in Japanese cities, as well as the multitude of ’speaking’ machines and devices - everything from microwaves to buses to petrol pumps.
Check out these other beer-related articles: Slang Expression #5 - Turbo Shandy; Beer and the Mother Tongue; Beer In Japan - Parts 1, 2, and 3; The Japanese Beer Bottle Xmas Tree; Harrison Ford Drinking Kirin Beer; Beer For Kids.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:51 am
Or it’s for the visually impaired who WANT to get drunk and don’t want to accidentally get the can of Pocari Sweat or Cow Piss, I mean Calpis.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Haha! I never thought about that possibility!
February 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Nice post, love those little details I’ve never noticed
“Everywhere beer” sounds like the edges of the station platform, last train back on a Friday night.
My favourite beer Nihonglish is the best selling happoshu- “No Style”. I think the idea is that it has no sugar and is stylish, although looking at the people who drink it, maybe they are making an ironic comment on their slip on shoes and white socks…
February 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Btw, someone’s really got to be an ugly guy to date a blind girl and need to get her drunk!