Brilliant pics show notoriously booze-loving Japanese businessmen drunkenly collapsed in the street after a hard day’s work
Workers are often paid a special 'drink allowance' to ensure they have no excuses for not boozing
FOR most British workers a cheeky after-work drink is a guilt-free pleasure but for Japanese businessmen the end-of-the-day session can be a crazy affair.
They are the so-called 'salarymen' who Japanese business customs dictate must NEVER turn down the offer of a drink from their boss or company associate.
The results, as these pictures show, are bizarre and often hilarious.
For many the fact they literally can't say no leaves them in more than a bit of bother with a fair proportion not making it home for the night.
The after-work beer and whisky sessions are a crucial part of corporate culture in Japan and workers are often paid a specific allowance to make sure they have no excuses for not attending.
Management consultant Shinsuke Suzuki told Japan Today: "To a large extent, if you’re not an employee with a specialised technical skill, then there’s nothing to really distinguish you from the other workers.
"So if you want to stand out and get promoted, attending drinking parties and building up an in-house network is much more effective than simply working your heart out at work."
Many of these amazing photos were taken by talented lensman Kenji Kawamoto who wanted to record images of those who have really gone for it.
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He said: "My photographs are a record of the people who have reached their limit and exhausted their strength after the daily grind.
"Everyone has different burdens, but everyone lives at a frantic pace. People drink with friends as a reward for the hard day’s work and face a new day’s work like warriors.
"A lot of people struggle through such work situations.
"I took these pictures with a true feeling of respect for the people in them. I don’t believe the state my subjects are in is shabby in any way.
"I can feel they have experienced hardships and fatigue to end up like this."
Japan's government has recently estimated 6.45 million people in the country suffer from alcohol-related problems - many because of its culture of after work drinks meetings.
The issue was recently tackled in an ad campaign by bar chain Yaocho, who placed duct tape around passed-out drinkers in the street along with the hasthag #homisugi- meaning 'drank too much'.
