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Astro Boy Cider Offered at Robot's 'Birthplace'

Tokyo's Shinjuku ward announced on December 27 that it will offer "100,000 Horsepower Shinjuku Cider" inspired by the Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) manga and anime series. In Osamu Tezuka's original story, the title boy robot is "born" in Shinjuku's Takanobaba neighborhood and possesses strength equal to 100,000 horsepower.

Shinjuku will sell 13,000 bottles of the soft drink for 150 yen (about US$2) each at 100 shops on Friday. The cider will be made from sudachi citrus fruit grown in Tokushima Prefecture. (In Japan, the word "cider" usually refers to a citrus-flavored soft drink that contains no apples.) Buyers who return empty cider bottles to shops in Shinjuku's Waseda and Takanobaba areas will receive "50 horsepower" of "Atom Currency," which is actually 50 yen (about US$0.65).

Japan's Ministry of the Environment began developing the cider last September as part of a campaign to promote bottle recycling. Shinjuku ward's chamber of commerce is supporting the program with the "Bottle Reuse Network" association. The Ministry of the Environment will assist with collection and cleaning of used bottles.

The Shinjuku chamber of commerce said that the campaign's main goal is to promote environmental conservation and recycling, similar to one of the Astro Boy story's themes. The ward is planning to offer more of the themed cider in the future.

Source: ITmedia's Netlab