It has just been announced (May 2011) that the latest Judan was played for a reduced prize. First prize is now 12 million yen instead of 15 million. This means the Judan drops from 4th to 6th in the "rich list" of Japanese tournaments. This has negative implications for seedings in international events. Strange timing when the glorious 50th anniversary is coming up.

The Judan time limits have also been reduced again, to 3 hours each.

The current rich list is (first prizes):

Kisei 45 million yen
Meijin 37 m
Honinbo 32 m
Tengen 14 m
Oza 14 m
Judan 12 m
Gosei 7.7 m

1 million yen is now roughly £7,600 / US$12,000 / 8,700 euros.

I don't like this. When the winner of this title is labeled a 10-dan, it should have some prestige and weight behind it, not a place above the smallest "major" (anybody actually consider the Gosei a major title?) title.

And also, as you said, strange timing considering the anniversary.

Have a few million yen to throw into the prize pool?