Osaka has received a generous gift of gold bars worth 560 million yen (£2.7 million) from an anonymous donor, with a specific request that the funds be used to repair the city's ageing water pipes. The donation, consisting of 21 kilograms of gold, was handed over to the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November, according to Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama.
Mayor Yokoyama expressed his astonishment at the donation, stating, 'It's a staggering amount and I was speechless. Tackling ageing water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank enough for the donation.' He confirmed that the city would respect the donor's wishes and allocate the gift to waterworks improvement projects.
Osaka, Japan's third-largest city with a population of 2.8 million, faces significant challenges with its ageing infrastructure. Much of Japan's public infrastructure was built during the rapid post-war economic growth, but Osaka's urban development began earlier, leading to faster deterioration of its water pipes and other systems, explained waterworks official Eiji Kotani.
The city needs to renew approximately 260 kilometres of water pipes, with the cost of renewing a 1.2-mile segment estimated at about 500 million yen. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Osaka recorded 92 cases of water pipe leaks under city roads. Concerns over waterworks safety have heightened following a fatal incident last year when a truck fell into a sinkhole linked to a damaged sewer in Saitama, north of Tokyo.
