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The second party, and the one after that
A full Japanese work drinking party has a shape. The 幹事 — usually the most junior person who can be trusted with a booking — picks the place, collects the 会費 and runs the evening. It opens with a word from the senior person present and a 乾杯, and it closes formally at a 中締め, often with everyone clapping once in unison. Then the evening splits: those who want to go home go home without losing face, and the rest go to a 二次会, and occasionally a 三次会 after that. The 中締め exists precisely so that leaving is a normal act rather than a defection, which is a more thoughtful piece of social engineering than it looks — and the reason attendance has been falling for twenty years is that younger employees would rather the whole structure were optional.