"Potential savers at Ikeda Bank are being enticed to lay a bet on the precise date in March that the cherry trees in Osaka break into blossom – a moment that marks the start of spring and generally triggers a week of boozy picnics. Depositors who guess correctly – the current thinking is that blossom day will be some time between March 23 and March 28 – will receive the princely return of 0.87 per cent on their one-year fixed term deposits; for those that do not, a still generous yield of 0.39 per cent will be given as a consolation prize. The selection of the 0.87 per cent rate is a pun – the number 87 can be read as the Japanese word for 'flower'. The number 39 can be read as 'bloom'."
Japanese Urged to Bet on Cherry Blossoms
by Leo Lewis
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/japan/article7031812.ece
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