Lottery sales are sluggish. At their peak in fiscal 2005, they were over 1.1 trillion yen, but in fiscal 2012 they were around 760 billion yen, a 30% decrease over the past 20 years.
According to the "Public Opinion Survey on Lottery" (2025) published by the Japan Lottery Association in November 2025, only 20% of those who have purchased lottery tickets were under 30 years old, while over 40% were over 60 years old.
The most common reason for buying is "for the prize money," while the most common reason for not buying is "because I don't think I'll win." Winning the first prize of 700 million yen, may seem small compared to the ticket price of 300 yen, but the probability of winning first prize is 1 in 20 million.
by MagazineKey4532