Before answering the survey, here are some brief knowledge about teenage drinking now.

In Japan the age limit for drinking is 20 years old under the law. This law has been made in 1922. However, it is said that alcohol is sold very easily to under aged teenagers at many places without showing their ID(ex. convenience stores, grocery stores etc). So at a glance it seems rather pointless to set an age limit. But do you know what happens if the country doesn't set any limit?
Actually, there are only a few countries that does not have a drinking age limit, for example China. But instead, most countries have a MDA and MPA.

MDA stands for- Minimum Drinking Age
MPA stands for- Minimum Purchasing Age


Regarding drinking age limits, it is divided into two; 'Regulate Drinking itself', and 'Regulate Buying/Selling Alcohol'. Drinking age limits, the place to drink and so on depends on the country's laws.
According to this website, the country that has the lowest MDA is Italy, Spain, France and Germany (16 yrs), and the highest is America and 3 other countries (21 yrs).
In Europe, the age limits depends on how high the alcohol degree is.
In the US, it depends on what country it is.

In a survey conducted to about 44,629 high school students in 2004 by Sapporo Beer Company, in Japan 76.6% of boys and 74.2% of girls (which means under-aged) have drank alcohol before.Although the law strictly forbids under-aged drinking, parents tend to encourage their child to drink as they get older. They do know that alcohol is bad for their health, but do they know what kind of causes occur?

As everyone can guess, drinking before the body develops completely can give great damage to the brain. Also, it affects bones and genital organs for both men and women. Another research says that younger people have higher risks in getting alcohol addiction. It can even change one's character. If you drink without responsibility, it does not only affect yourself but also the people around you. Take drunk driving for example. It can bring out about 430 cases of drunk driving related accidents in just one year.


I have LOTS more to research on, but for today I am going to BED! Good night everyone.

Here's the reference websites.
Asahi Beer Homepage
Reference Site

I'm sorry that they are in Japanese. But if you can read Japanese I think they can be useful.