How to Buy the 10 Billion Won Lottery Ticket in Japan Even If You’re a Foreigner

① Japan’s Prominent Lottery Types

The representative lottery in Japan is ‘Takarakuji,’ officially issued by Mizuho Bank.
The lottery types are divided into Lotto, Numbers, and Jumbo, with the latter two using a dartboard for the draw.

Among them ‘Jumbo Takarakuji’ is a lottery that is issued five times a year.
They are only sold during specific periods like ‘Valentine Jumbo (February~)’, ‘Dream Jumbo (April~)’, ‘Summer Jumbo (July~)’, ‘Halloween Jumbo (October~)’, and ‘Year-end Jumbo (November~)’.

The most heated lottery season is at the end of the year due to the sizable prize money.
Since its inception in 1976, the year-end Jumbo lottery has become a part of Japanese culture.
Every year-end, people seek out places known for producing many winners to purchase the year-end Jumbo lottery.

At lottery sales outlets known for producing many first-prize winners, people had to wait over five hours to purchase a lottery ticket.

This year’s year-end Jumbo lottery was issued at 300 yen per ticket with a total amount of 138 billion yen (approximately $1.24 billion).
If you win first prize, you win 700 million yen (approximately $6.3 million), and there will be 23 winners.
In Japan’s lottery, there’s a ‘first prize before and after’ prize given to the numbers before and after the winning number.

The ‘first prize before and after’ reward is 150 million yen (approximately $1.36 million) for 46 people, and the second prize is 10 million yen (approximately $91,080) for 184 people.
The lottery number consists of ‘group’ and ‘number’.
If the first prize winning number is ‘165 group 186859’, the ‘before and after’ numbers are ‘165 group 186858’ and ‘165 group 186860’.
If the first prize winner has consecutive numbers, they can receive the ‘first prize before and after’ prize of 150 million yen twice.
They can receive up to 1 billion yen (approximately $9.1 million).

This year’s year-end Jumbo lottery was sold until December 22, and the number draw will be broadcast live on NHK on the 31st.
Winners can receive their prize money starting on January 9 of next year.

② No Tax on Prize Money

Unlike in our country, Japan does not tax lottery winnings.
In Japan, they argue that they cannot tax the dreams of the common people.

When the lottery was introduced in Japan, it was promoted as a national project.
The purpose was to increase national revenue and taxing the lottery would result in double taxation.
40% of lottery sales become profit for local governments, which is used for public projects.

If the winner does not appear within the prize payment deadline, it is treated as ‘unclaimed prize money’.
This is returned to the local government that issued the lottery and used bfor public projects.

For these reasons, if you win the lottery in Japan you can receive the full amount of the prize money, excluding transfer fees.
Taxes are not imposed at the time of receiving the lottery winnings.

After receiving the prize money, it is considered as property and is taxed.
If you give the prize money to a family member or someone else, it may be subject to gift tax depending on the amount.
If the winner dies part or all of the prize money is inherited as an estate.

Although no tax is imposed on lottery winnings, as wealth increases taxes in other areas will increase.

③ Takarakuji Available for Purchase by Foreigners

The Japanese lottery can be purchased by foreigners and they can receive the prize money.
Unfortunately, this year’s year-end Jumbo lottery sales have ended so if you want to buy a lottery ticket, you will have to wait until next year.
In Japan, they sell lottery tickets at lottery sales outlets and subway stations.
During the year-end, you can see long lines in front of lottery sales outlets.

Many people buy lottery tickets in the hope of being able to receive the prize money during their trip.
However, foreigners should note that the process of receiving the prize money is complicated.
In Japan, lottery winnings cannot be received in cash, and a local account is required.
Bank accounts are created for long-term residents with visas and obtaining a visa is a tricky part.

If you win more than 100,000 yen (approximately $908) in the lottery, you can deposit it into a Mizuho Bank account and use it locally without any additional tax.
If you are a resident of Japan, you can easily receive it, but it’s not an easy situation for tourists.

If you receive the prize money in your home country’s bank account, you have to pay income tax to your home country’s financial authorities. The fees incurred from international transfers are also not insignificant.

By. Sung Min Seo