Abe cuts budget for centenarians' gifts

Tokyo

ONE perk of getting old in Japan is a gift of a silver cup from the prime minister in the year that you celebrate your 100th birthday. But from this year, new centenarians will be sipping sake from cheaper vessels.

The rising cost of supporting the ageing population - almost 32,000 people were eligible to receive the gift this year, up 4.5 per cent from last year - has prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to present cups made of silver plate rather than sterling silver. The move halves the price to 3,812 yen (S$51) per cup, public broadcaster NHK said, reducing total spending on the gifts by about 40 per cent to 150 million yen.