In an Asahi Shimbun column, writer Sandra Häfelin explored the cultural gap between Germany and Japan over “paying the bill.” In Germany, even at drinking parties, it’s common for each person to pay only for what they personally ate and drank, whereas in Japan splitting the bill evenly (warikan) is the norm, often forcing people who barely ate or drank to shoulder an equal share. In response to the article, 5ch’s News Express+ board saw a clash between those saying “if you don’t like it, just decline to go” and those saying “the whole organizer/bill-splitting system itself is a hassle,” and the thread spiraled into a broader debate over whether drinking-party culture itself is even worth keeping.
“I just had two beers and some fried chicken” — the Japan-Germany “bill problem” that torments party organizers: Asahi Shimbun
September 23, 2026, 4:00 PM
Paid article — Sandra Häfelin (writer)
Source: asahi.com / original article here
It ticks me off paying for the share of some guy who drinks like a fish when I barely drink myself, so I've just stopped going to drinking parties.
That's the right move. Just go if you figure attending gets you more out of it than it costs you.
That's exactly why, when there's a non-drinker in the group, we either do all-you-can-drink or knock a big chunk off their share of the split.
Anyway, I've drunk with Germans both in Japan and in Germany, and not a single one of them ever said anything like this lol
Why should I have to pay for someone else's food after being dragged out against my will?
Seriously, this. They keep inviting people who barely drink just to pad out the split.
Then you be the organizer, lol
If there's a "same price for the large size, on us" deal, they'll say "I'll take the regular size instead, so knock the price down."
More like, don't invite me in the first place. Why would I be sad about skipping a night of ethanol and food that's bad for me?
Well, that's fine if you don't want to go. If you end up cut out of the loop because of it, that's just how it goes.
Then just become the organizer yourself. With 10 people, restaurants hate doing separate checks — maybe fine for a lunch crowd, but not at an izakaya at night.
I hate the whole "organizer" system too. Calling everyone up, taking orders — what a pain.
People who feel like it should just show up, pay whatever they want, and head home.
Farewell parties and the like shouldn't even be a thing.
Just my personal opinion, though.
If you feel that strongly, you don't have to show up, right? And if that causes problems down the line, well, that's just the annoying reality of taking responsibility for your own choices.
If everyone could just pay whatever they wanted and leave, they'd all just drop a 100-yen coin and walk out. Fine to state your opinion, but you're a grown adult — think about how that would actually play out.
Nah, this type would still find something to complain about even then.
These days you can just say no, can't you?
Depends on the timing, the situation, workplace social obligations, and your position. Obviously I decline when I can, but if my boss or a sales rep begs me to stand in for them, I'm stuck going. And most of the time those events are nothing but the other company's office gossip and griping — deadly boring.
If you find that topic boring, I think it's because you're taking it too seriously.
The reason your boss or the sales rep dumps it on you as a stand-in is precisely because it's a hassle and a hollow, pointless gathering. If it actually mattered, they'd handle it themselves instead of offloading it onto someone else. When a gathering actually affects their own performance, normal people show up in person.
Gatherings that shut out non-drinkers are a dying breed as far as socializing and meetings go.
That only looks like a "dying breed" from the perspective of someone being shut out.
Even on a 5,000-yen all-you-can-drink course, if there's a non-drinker we charge them less. Say 2 of 4 people don't drink — those two pay 4,000, the drinkers pay 6,000.
If that's never happened for you, maybe people just don't respect you enough to bother?
Just cough up the measly 30,000 yen already.
I've never once "split the bill" in my life.
When I was young, the seniors who invited me out always covered everything. Now that I'm middle-aged, I'm the one who pays, whether I did the inviting or got invited.
Going out to eat, drink, or have fun and then "splitting the bill" — I honestly can't even picture it.
Don't skimp on money spent having fun — that's money well spent. Don't skimp on things you use all the time either, like your phone or PC — same principle.
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Have you never been to a reunion or anything like that?
So basically you're a sad little buddy who never gets invited out by classmates or friends, and only ever gets dragged to obligatory work drinking parties with your boss or subordinates.
I don't want the course or the all-you-can-drink, so can I just pay 1,000 yen?
No good — most izakayas require the whole table to order the same course or drink plan together.
If you skip the tatami room and just stand solo at the counter, that works.
Background and key points of the debate
Bill-splitting isn’t uniquely Japanese — the West has its own version of individual paying, sometimes called “going Dutch” — but this article frames Germany’s individualistic approach to paying against Japan’s collective bill-splitting culture. The thread split into two camps: a “personal responsibility” camp arguing that if you dislike an unfair split, you should simply decline to attend, and an “abolish the system” camp arguing that the organizer and bill-splitting system itself should be scrapped — both essentially questioning whether drinking parties should exist in their current form at all. At the same time, some commenters described already using a sliding scale that lightens the load for non-drinkers, suggesting the actual custom isn’t as uniform as it’s often portrayed. It’s also worth noting the original article sits behind the Asahi Shimbun’s paywall, so the 5ch discussion is reacting only to the headline and opening paragraph — not a debate grounded in the article’s full content.
※This article was excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Writer] “I just had two beers and some fried chicken” — the Japan-Germany “bill problem” that torments party organizers: Asahi Shimbun.”
