Cups

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the silver sake cup given by the government to people in Japan on their 100th birthday is to be reduced in size. The current cup has a diameter of a muscular 10.5cm, and this is going to be reduced to an insulting, withered 9cm starting this year. Because old people obviously need all the silver they can get.

The article quotes a person as saying that it was a shame "aged people will become victims of the government's financial problems". But the source was anonymous and merely described as a "staffer" at a "municipality". So he's an anonymous guy, employed in some capacity, at a place. Nice work, Yomiuri.

Of course, the centenarians aren't really victims at all. They may get a slightly smaller silver cup then the people last year, but I doubt they're all going to protest and refuse to grow older because of it - I'm pretty sure an extra year of life is as precious a gift as you can get.

So here's to the 20,000 people in Japan turning 100 this year. Don't get too drunk with your silver cups, now.