Help us find the winner of a 1.2 billion yen Japanese lottery ticket from last year

Probably the worst piece of paper ever to throw out by mistake.

What’s harder than winning the Starbucks lucky bag lottery? Winning the actual lottery. But in early 2021, one lucky person bought a winning lottery ticket worth 1.2 billion yen (approximately US$165.6 million) in the seaside town of Saiki, Oita Prefecture.

The only problem? They haven’t claimed it yet.

That’s why Toto Dream, the sports lottery company giving out the prize money, is asking for help to contact the winner. The only official details given out so far are that it was the 1221st drawing of the Mega Big Lottery, and that it was purchased at a Lawson convenience store in Saiki. The Lawson in question has all of the details of who bought it, but for the sake of privacy (and probably to make sure they’ve got the right winner), they haven’t released the name or address of the winner.

▼ “It’s me! I’m the one you’re looking for!”

So if you’re the winner or know the winner, how do you claim it? You’ll need the lottery ticket, of course, and you’ll also need a form of ID and an inkan signature stamp. That means that if you don’t have the ticket, you can’t get the money.

Japanese netizens reacted to the news with a mix of surprise, dismay, and as always, a bit of humor.

“People actually win this?”
“This is probably a case where they lost the ticket.”
“Uh, it’s me. I lost the ticket.”
“If someone in a rural area like Oita Prefecture won, that gossip would spread like fire.”
“I bet this is a case where someone’s grandfather died and the family inconsiderately threw out the ticket.”
“Why would you buy a lottery ticket if you’re not going to check the results?”

Whatever the backstory of the unclaimed lottery ticket is, the winner has until February 9, 2022 to claim the prize money, so let’s hope for a happy ending!

Either way, winning no money is better than losing almost seven hundred thousand yen on buying a ton of lottery tickets at once, like we once did.

Sources: Otaku.com via Toto Dream
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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