Have you ever bought any lottery ticket?  I am not talking about a scratch ticket, but the big ones that you could win millions of dollars. You might say that buying a lottery is the same thing as gambling, but buying a lottery is sort of like buying a chance to make your dream come true. Your winning chance might be small but if you don’t buy it, you won’t win for sure. Just like in the U.S. and many other countries, lottery is big in Japan.

Around this time of the year, people in Japan often talk about buying a lottery ticket for one of the major lotteries called ” End of the Year Jumbo Lottery (Nenmatsu Jumbo, 年末ジャンボ )” Every year, winning number is announced on December 31st.

There are total 5 jumbo lotteries taking place in Japan throughout the year.  Between February and March every year, they have a lottery called, “Green Jumbo”.  Between May and June, they have one called, “Dream Jumbo”.  Between July and August, they have “Summer Jumbo”. Between September and October, they have “Autumn Jumbo”. The last Jumbo lottery of the year, the one called “Nenmatsu Jumbo” is sold starting in November through December.  (Nenmatsu means the end of the year in Japanese)

This year, you could win up to 700 million yen (Approx.$7M). Although 7 million dollars might not sound so high in the U.S., in Japan, this is the highest ever been for the end of the year lottery. The chance of getting all 700 million yen might be super small, but it is not impossible to get it.  A lottery ticket is sold for 300 yen, approximately $3. Each ticket has a group number as well as 6 digit lottery number printed. To win all 700 million yen, the lottery number as well as the group number on your ticket will have to match the ones on the winning ticket. You would also have to have two tickets with the same group number, and one ticket with the lottery number 1 above the winning one, and the other ticket with the lottery number 1 below the winning number to get all 700 million yen. This is called Zengo sho. (前後賞)

Below is the video that shows you how popular this lottery is in Japan:

My English translations below:

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Nenmatsu (end of the year) Jumbo lottery is now on sale throughout Japan. This year, including Zengo sho’s, so you can win up to 700 million yen.  People are lining up to get their lottery tickets here.  Thirty minutes after the sale started, you can see how many people have already lined up.  The line is still getting longer, and you cannot see the kiosk from back here.  Believe it or not, the wait is now 3 and half hours at the end of the line.

“I bought them again this year. I bought 2500 tickets.”

“I wish I could make my dream come true at the end of the year.”

This year, there will be sixty 500 million yen winning tickets. There will be 120 Zengo sho, which gives out 100 million yen each. Combined with Zengo sho, the highest amount will be 700 million yen, which is the highest ever been.  There could be up to 180 millionaires after this lottery. This year, they are also selling Jumbo mini lottery, and with that, there will be eighty 70 million yen winners. Tickets will be on sale from November 22 through December 20th.  The winning numbers will be announced on the New Years Eve.

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Are you interested in buying YOUR DREAM?