How's this for a government pension scheme: In lieu of payments, give eligible recipients five lottery tickets a year and a chance to win millions.
A Japanese daily playfully reported on Thursday, April Fool's Day, that Japan's government was considering handing out lottery tickets to make up for future cuts in payments from the ailing public pension system.
"The aim is to suppress the public's discontent by giving them a dream that they may win millions," the Tokyo Shimbun said in the article, one of four joke stories it printed for the April 1 edition.
Some readers, however, aren't laughing.
"I don't want to see a joke that may not be so much of a joke," said a woman in her twenties, one of many young Japanese who already feel like paying into the ailing system is indeed akin to gambling.
More and more Japanese, especially the young, widely believe that they are unlikely to get much out of the pension system even though they may have to shoulder a bigger burden in payments than their ageing parents did.
By 2025, Japan is expected to have one person over 65 for every two of working age, the highest ratio among industrial countries.