Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, recently received an unexpected gift. Back in November, an anonymous donor presented the city with gold bars worth ¥560 million (about $3.6 million). But the 46-pound bars came with a specific stipulation: the money must be used to improve Osaka’s dilapidated water pipes.
“It’s a staggering amount and I was speechless,” Hideyuki Yokoyama, the city’s mayor, told reporters last week. “Tackling aging water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank enough for the donation.”
Like many Japanese cities, Osaka has contended with outdated infrastructure in recent years. After all, the majority of Japan’s main public infrastructure was built throughout the postwar era, thanks to booming economic growth. In Osaka, though, development occurred even earlier than Japan’s other urban hubs, causing greater issues for its waterworks systems, according to city official Eiji Kotani. He added that the city needs to renew 160 miles of water pipes, and that tackling even a 1.2-mile segment would cost up to ¥500 million (about $3.2 million).
The anonymous gift comes amid increasing concerns about Japan’s infrastructure. More than 20% of the country’s water pipes have passed their legal service life of 40 years, per the BBC. During the 2024 fiscal year, Osaka’s waterworks bureau also recorded over 90 cases of water pipe leaks beneath its roads. For those reasons, among others, sinkholes have become more common across Japanese cities, including in the country’s capital of Tokyo. Last year, a sinkhole opened up as a direct result of a damaged sewer in Saitama, swallowing a truck and ultimately killing its driver.
Alongside Yokoyama, Osaka’s waterworks bureau expressed gratitude for the generous donation, claiming that it would be put to good use. Notably, the same anonymous donor had previously given the city ¥500,000 in cash, also intended for municipal waterworks.
An anonymous donor has gifted Osaka gold bars worth $3.6 million, with the stipulation that the money be used to improve the city’s dilapidated water pipes.
Sources: Mystery donor gives Japanese city $3.6m in gold bars to fix water system; Osaka city stunned by anonymous gold bar gift worth $3.6M to fix aging water pipes; Osaka stunned by anonymous gift of gold bars to fix ageing water pipes
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