[ti:Japan Warms to Alcohol-free Beer during Pandemic] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]In Japan, some workers who regularly drink beer [00:05.12]at the end of the day are giving their livers a rest [00:10.36]and turning to beer that is free, or nearly free, of alcohol. [00:18.80]Because of the coronavirus health crisis, [00:22.76]many Japanese people are not doing the things [00:27.00]they used to do after work. [00:31.44]Parts of Japan, including Tokyo, are currently under rules [00:37.28]that restrict people’s movement until March 21. [00:43.44]So, while people in Japan still like to drink beer, [00:49.04]many are not doing it as often. [00:52.84]They are also trying kinds of beer [00:55.80]that have very little alcohol or none at all. [01:01.92]Tadasu Masuda lives in Kobe, Japan. [01:06.80]He is trying low-alcohol beers [01:10.48]as a way to give his liver a day off. [01:15.44]The liver is the organ [01:18.04]that works to remove alcohol from the body. [01:22.40]Masuda said he is paying more attention [01:26.08]to his health now that he is older. [01:30.52]Asahi is a large beverage company in Japan. [01:36.76]It expects to make 20 percent more money [01:41.24]from low-alcohol beer in 2021 compared to last year. [01:50.12]Kirin is another company that makes things to drink. [01:56.12]It saw sales grow by 10 percent last year [02:00.16]and expects another increase this year. [02:05.80]The increase in sales of non-alcoholic beer [02:10.76]might be the result of many Japanese people [02:14.76]spending more time at home. [02:18.12]In the past, they would order beers together while going out. [02:23.72]More people are trying to stay healthy, as well. [02:28.64]Also, fewer people are drinking beer, [02:31.92]as wine and other alcoholic drinks become more popular. [02:37.16]But the new interest in low-alcohol beer [02:40.76]has helped the beverage industry in Japan. [02:45.24]In recent years, many companies [02:48.20]started making non-alcoholic beers. [02:51.48]They caught on in places like Australia and Germany [02:56.32]but not in Japan – until this year. [03:01.52]The chief of Suntory, another large beverage company in Japan, [03:06.80]said people only responded to non-alcoholic beer advertising [03:12.96]when the product started to taste better. [03:17.60]Many people agree that today’s non-alcoholic beers [03:22.60]taste better than they used to. [03:26.28]Asahi’s “Beery” has very little alcohol. [03:30.80]But it is supposed to have more taste than earlier versions [03:36.08]of low-alcohol beer because of a new way of removing the alcohol. [03:41.88]The company plans to offer more low-alcohol beers in coming years. [03:49.36]Kirin and Suntory are also trying to make low-alcohol beers [03:54.84]with better ingredients than in the past. [03:59.16]Kazuo Matsuyama is marketing chief for Asahi. [04:04.96]He said most beer companies used to advertise to people [04:10.12]who had a drink every day. [04:12.80]That was about 20 million people. [04:17.28]But there are about 80 million people in Japan [04:22.16]between the ages of 20 and 60. [04:26.96]“But now we need to look at others,” Matsuyama said. [04:33.24]I’m Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM