Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road

Does anyone else remember that song? This odd epidemic in Okinawa,Japan made me think of that song only instead of stinking like a dead skunk the folks are stinking drunk. It is called rojo-ne which literally translates to "sleeping on the road" and officials say despite the pandemic the number of cases of rojo-ne are on track to hit or surpass the over 7,000 incidents last year. The culprit behind the epidemic is awamori ,a rice based spirit unique to the island. People get so intoxicated by the spirit that they just lay down wherever they are,thinking they are at home and in bed.  Fortunately only 16 of the incidents resulted in injuries,three of which were fatal.