What is the drinking age in Japan?

18–20

Minimum age to buy alcohol: 20.

Japan is one of 135 countries classified “18–20” for the drinking age — 70% of the 192 with data.

Source

Taken from
Wikipedia: Legal drinking age
Last checked
15 September 2026
How it was classified
Read directly from the source’s own table, without interpretation.

Nearby countries

South Korea
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 19.
North Korea
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 18.
Taiwan
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 18.
Hong Kong
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 18.
Macau
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 18.
Philippines
18–20 Minimum age to buy alcohol: 18.

Other laws in Japan

Cannabis
Illegal
Smoking Age
19+
Psilocybin Mushrooms
Illegal
Salvia Divinorum
Illegal
E-Cigarettes
Sales banned

Every law in Japan → · What is the drinking age around the world? →

A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.