Fans bidding in a charity online auction to buy a teacup used once by popdiva Lady Gaga had offered more than $50,000 by Tuesday, with five days left before the hammer falls.
The china cup and saucer set was used by the star at a press conference in Tokyo three months after the massive tsunami of March last year swamped a large stretch of coastline.
Lady Gaga told reporters at the time that she would auction the cup, marked with her lipstick and bearing the Japanese message “We pray for Japan” along with the star’s autograph.
All the money raised will be used to help young Japanese artists who want to study in the United States. The cup was put on “Yahoo! Japan Auctions” at midday on Monday, with the starting price of one yen. The auction is set to finish at 2 pm GMT on Sunday.