Osaka City Stunned By Anonymous Gold Bars Gift Worth $3.6 Million To Fix Aging Water Pipes

TOKYO — Osaka has received a hefty gift of golden bars worthy $3.6 cardinal from an anonymous philanthropist asking for its circumstantial use: to hole nan Japanese city’s dilapidated h2o pipes.

The golden bars weighing 46 pounds successful full were fixed to nan Osaka City Waterworks Bureau successful November by nan philanthropist who wants to thief amended aging h2o pipes, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters Thursday.

“It’s a staggering magnitude and I was speechless,” Yokoyama said. “Tackling aging h2o pipes requires a immense investment, and I cannot convey capable for nan donation.”

The politician said his metropolis will respect nan donor’s wishes and usage nan gift to amended waterworks projects.

Concern complete nan information of Osaka’s waterworks systems grew aft a monolithic sinkhole swallowed a motortruck and killed nan driver past year. It was linked to a damaged sewer successful Saitama, northbound of Tokyo. Osaka had 92 cases of h2o tube leaks nether metropolis roads successful nan fiscal twelvemonth ending March 2025, nan city’s waterworks charismatic Eiji Kotani told nan Associated Press connected Friday.

With nan organization of 2.8 million, Osaka is nan country’s third-largest metropolis that serves arsenic a occidental Japanese capital.

Most of Japan’s main nationalist infrastructure was built during nan accelerated postwar economical growth.

Urban improvement successful Osaka, a location commercialized hub, started earlier than galore different cities and its h2o pipes and different infrastructure are besides aging earlier, Kotani said.

Osaka needs to renew a full of 160 miles of h2o pipes, he said. Renewing a 1.2-mile conception of h2o pipes would costs astir $3.2 million, Kotani said.

Yamaguchi writes for nan Associated Press.