World’s smallest Rubik’s Cube measuring just 9.9mm and weighing 2g goes on sale in Japan for £1,480

The world’s smallest Rubik’s Cube has gone on sale to mark the 40th anniversary of the original 3D puzzle.

The tiny but playable cube, made of ‘ultra-precision metal’, measures just 9.9 millimetres across and weighs two grams.

It is has gone on sale in Japan at a cost of 198,000 yen (£1,480) for delivery in December. 

The cube also comes with its own display box, according to MegaHouse, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based toymaker Bandai.   

Rubik’s Cube was invented by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik in the 1970s before a company in the US turned it into a hit product in the 1980s.

More than 100 million cubes were sold worldwide in the first two years.

It was an instant hit in Japan where more than four million were sold in the first eight months after it went on sale in July 1980.

The new tiny cube was shown this week at an exhibition in Tokyo organised by the Hungarian embassy, which also includes an artwork made with Rubik’s Cubes. 

The exhibit will run through until November 9. 

Norbert Palanovics, the Hungarian ambassador to Japan, said he tells anyone who will listen about the Rubik’s Cube because it embodies the small, simple but smart qualities of his country.

‘The Rubik’s Cube is part of our everyday life here in Japan, too, and inspires everyone,’ he said.