Random advice about a random matter needed

[Riverkilt]

Being an alcoholic with many many years of experience on both sides of wet/dry can tell you there's no way you can win....impossible. Hold it and suffer again. Don't hold it and field some resentments.

Doctors say more than four drinks at one sitting for men, or more than three drinks in one sitting for women, is binge drinking. There's no way you can control the supply since the booze lovers can bring their own or step outside to their own supply.

Does Japan have an equivalent of a dram shop law where you could be held responsible if someone got drunk at your party then hurt themself or someone else on the way home.

Friends once tried collecting all the keys and providing bedding for all the party goers for the night. One of the drunks woke up to relieve himself - in a stupor he relieved himself in a little girls closet. So even key holding can backfire.

Maybe if you had a neutral location you could rent - like some hall somewhere....then the "damage" would remain there.

It sure don't look good. You are very very wise not to ignore the results of past years.

[CDNSushi]

Thanks for the advice so far... Good stuff. I like be da veva's suggestion quite a bit.

Addressing a couple points made by Riverkilt:

Doctors say more than four drinks at one sitting for men, or more than three drinks in one sitting for women, is binge drinking.

If you could PM me a reputable source for those figures, I'd be very grateful. It's something that I could casually discuss with my friends without a) offending them b) coming across as a jerk, and c) have a source to back it up... (Being all teachers they are a fairly educated bunch)...

Does Japan have an equivalent of a dram shop law where you could be held responsible if someone got drunk at your party then hurt themself or someone else on the way home.

Absolutely they do! Unfortunately it has mostly to do with drunk driving... I.e. if you get caught drunk-driving, the host of the party who served the alcohol may get fined.

Friends once tried collecting all the keys and providing bedding for all the party goers for the night. One of the drunks woke up to relieve himself - in a stupor he relieved himself in a little girls closet. So even key holding can backfire.

Due to our unique situation, no one will be driving because having a car and a driver's license in Japan is challenging if you're an ex-pat, and since most of our friends are not living here long-term, we don't have that issue. BUT, having said that, Japan's drunk-driving laws DO apply to bicycles, so Riverkilt, you may be onto something. I certainly COULD cite the aforementioned "dram shop law" that would get me in trouble if they were caught cycling home drunk...

Maybe if you had a neutral location you could rent - like some hall somewhere....then the "damage" would remain there.

Also a good idea. We have several community centers at our disposal. Unfortunately if something were to happen there, my wife's good reputation might be affected. She's gone to great pains to establish a good reputation at these places in order to organize Japanese lessons for foreigners, and if one of our friends did something stupid, she might be asked not to come back -- which would be really bad news for a lot of other people.

Again, good suggestions so far. I just had my own idea as I've been reading through this... WHat do you suppose would happen if I designated one person official "bartender"...? I wonder if I could get away with that?