Lottery in Aomori Pref. Rewards Locals Who Get Treated for High Blood Pressure

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, June 23, 2025

The Aomori prefectural government has launched a lottery in which it will reward residents who go to a hospital and are prescribed medicine to lower their blood pressure for the first time, with the aim of encouraging residents to start receiving treatment for high blood pressure and consult doctors early.

The prefecture has the lowest average lifespan for both men and women. The prefectural government has long recommended residents engage in moderate physical exercise and reduce their salt intake, but it is thought that nearly 20% of residents age 40 or older have not received proper medical treatment for their high blood pressure. The lottery is meant to take efforts a step further.

When the prefectural government looked at data from 2021, it found that about 362,000 residents age 40 or older, or 44% of the age group, had high blood pressure. About 149,000 people had never received medical treatment for their condition.

High blood pressure can lead to more serious illnesses, such as strokes, heart attacks and other illnesses of the brain, heart and blood vessels.

“By relying directly on medicine, I want to extend residents’ healthy lifespans and lower their mortality rate,” said Aomori Gov. Soichiro Miyashita, explaining the purpose of the lottery.

The initiative, which kicked off this month, is open to residents who need medical treatment for high blood pressure and are prescribed medicine for the first time. Residents can win up to ¥10,000 in QUO gift cards or low-salt food products.

All prefectural residents may participate in another lottery that allows entries for every 10th time you have your blood measured at home or other suitable facilities. Both lotteries will last until the end of February next year.

In Aomori Prefecture, the average lifespan is 79.27 years for men and 86.33 years for women, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimate from 2020. Lifespans are 2.22 years shorter than the national average for men and 1.27 years shorter for women.

Health experts believe that the prefecture’s diet of preserved foods, such as pickled foods and dried fish, during the long winter have resulted in residents taking in too much salt.

“By getting residents to be more aware about the need to take medicine and extend their healthy lifespan with early treatment, we want to move to a future with lower financial costs from medical care,” said an official for the prefectural government.