OSAKA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Universities in the western Japanese prefecture of Osaka are tackling on the prevalence of alcohol- related harassment among college students amid rising concerns over the loss of young lives from excessive alcohol.

In Japan, a danger to students who participate in drinking parties is reportedly emerging, especially when they are forced to drink in spring time, the start of the academic year for most of the educational institutions. Local press earlier this month warned universities and organizations involved in alcohol abuse should take a series of measures to raise awareness of the danger of alcohol harassment, or "aruhara."

On May 7, nine students at the Otaru University of Commerce in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido were taken to hospital due to alcohol poisoning. Doctors said one freshman was unconscious.

The hospitalized students were members of a group consisting of around 60 men and women associated with the university's American Football Club. They collapsed following an extended period of alcohol consumption at a party.

According to Japan Specified Non-profit Corporation to Prevent Alcohol and Drug Problems, or ASK, two students in Japan have already died after enforced drinking.

The organization said in the 2010 academic year, for example, there were nearly 80 cases of insurance benefits being paid to students who were hospitalized for acute alcohol poisoning. ASK spokesperson Akiko Baba, in an interview with Xinhua, estimated that the actual number of those carried to medical institutions could be much more than the official data.

To stop the tragic incidents resulted from "aruhara," a total of 70 university staff and students of Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture last month worked with ASK to distribute more than 2, 000 flyers which inform the students about the danger of alcohol poisoning.

The campaign also gained support from some 20 local liquor shops in addition to bars and restaurants around the university campus.

At the same time the university put up posters illustrated by the ASK members in hoardings of its campus in order to stop unsociable way of drinking, or "binge" drinking, with phrase stressing not to force anyone to drink against his/her will.

Also, Kinki University with more than 30,000 students, which hold the largest number in terms of students and graduates in western Japan, advised students not to practice "binge" drinking at parties, using some 20 project screens installed in each corner of the university buildings.

A spokesman of the university told Xinhua that the university' s student affairs office increased the number of announcements this spring time so that students could pay more attention to the risk of enforced alcohol drinking, changing the campaigning words in several ways day by day.

In Osaka City University, meanwhile, students are strongly recommended to use patch test organized by the university's health and medical service center. The method is introduced so that each student can know whether he/she can possess acetaldehyde dehydrogenase which can detoxify alcohol in body.

"During the test, the challengers are given a small seal absorbed a tiny amount of alcohol and applied to their skin. 20 minutes later, they will know the results," Shoko Hata, a spokesperson of the center said.

Talking about alcohol poisoning, Hata attributed the main reason for such emerging problems to the atmospheres or particular environments in which students could not decline to drink in the site since an attitude refusing alcohol could be often considered as "not smart" or "not sociable" at such "welcome" parties held by university-sponsored extracurricular organizations and student-organized clubs.

Referring to the increase of reported cases concerning alcohol- related harassment among students, ASK spokesperson Baba noted that most of the incidents happened when students drank with senior college organization or club members. She noted the characteristic of college students is, without doubt, an important factor to cause a series of the fatal incidents.

"Nowadays, younger people in Japan often want to avoid consensus-breaking behavior, regardless of his/her intentions, thinking showing such an 'unsociable' manner in meeting is disrespect to other members," she said.

"As long as the vicious circle in which students are forced to drink by the senior members could not be disrupted, we will see more tragic 'aruhara' incidents", she noted.