Sideswipe: August 22: Green with envy over this necklace

Necklace available on Shein.

Less is not always more

Japan's national tax agency is trying to tackle a decline in revenue by persuading young people to change their sober ways. Officials say alcohol consumption in Japan fell by nearly a third between the mid-1990s and 2020. Almost 30 per cent of Japanese people in their 20s don't drink alcohol at all and another 26.5 per cent rarely drink. The "Sake Viva" campaign warns that the domestic alcohol market is shrinking due to demographic and lifestyle changes and asks people to come up with business ideas to improve "the development and promotion of Japanese alcoholic beverages", including sake, whisky, and beer, to young people. Critics have accused the agency of trying to get young people addicted to alcohol. "As long as they can collect taxes, I guess people's health doesn't matter," one Twitter user wrote.

Sign of the times

Please read only if you understand jokes based on wordplay, not if you are trying to find some non-existent offence.

Confessions

1. "Girlfriend questioned why I put my deodorant on like a big X on my body and I couldn't admit that it's because that's how Nick Frost does it in the movie Hot Fuzz."

2. "A colleague told me she planned to park at the airport in the short-stay car park as she was only going away for the weekend which she considered a short break. I didn't correct her. She returned to a $250 parking fee."

3. "My car has dash cams facing forward, back and out of the left passenger window. My record for uploading footage to the police of drivers using mobile phones is 16 in a day. It's a hobby that gives me endless joy."

4. "My dog died recently and every night I now put a blanket over the bottom part of my duvet, so it still feels like they're there when I go to sleep."

(Via @Fesshole)