Osaka has been gifted gold bars worth 560 million yen, equivalent to USD 3.6 million, from an anonymous donor. The donation is specifically intended for fixing the city’s dilapidated water pipes, as articulated by Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama. The gold, totaling 21 kilograms, was presented to the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November.
Mayor Yokoyama expressed his gratitude and acknowledged the enormous impacts the donation could have on the city’s infrastructure. The mayor emphasized Osaka’s commitment to honoring the donor’s request, aiming to modernize the city’s aging water systems. Concerns over waterworks safety escalated after last year’s sinkhole incident, which resulted in a fatality and was traced to a damaged sewer in Saitama.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Eiji Kotani, a city waterworks official, highlighted the wider issue of outdated infrastructure in Osaka. With 92 incidents of water pipe leaks reported under city roads in the fiscal year ending March 2025, the necessity for updates is pressing. The city, serving its 2.8 million citizens, faces the challenge of renewing 259 kilometers of pipes, a project requiring significant financial resources.
(With inputs from agencies.)