Link: https://apnews.com/article/japan-osaka-gold-donation-water-pipes-2f2e68017b7b041858c2de46a67be7ab

TOKYO (AP) — Osaka has received a hefty gift of gold bars worth 560 million yen ($3.6 million) from an anonymous donor asking for its specific use: to fix the Japanese city’s dilapidated water pipes.

The gold bars weighing 21 kilograms (46 pounds) in total were given to the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November by the donor who wants to help improve aging water pipes, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters Thursday.

“It’s a staggering amount and I was speechless,” Yokoyama said. “Tackling aging water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank enough for the donation.”

The mayor said his city will respect the donor’s wishes and use the gift to improve waterworks projects.

Any time I hear a story like this, all I can think of his how countries worldwide need to tax the billionaires more.

Exactly, because as cool as this donation is, 3.6M$ is basically nothing when it comes to public infrastructure like that.

Agreed, $3.6mil doesn't seem like that much to fix infrastructure problems (see cost of updating the US power grid estimates), but you know who also doesn't think $3.6mil isn't that much? Billionaires. Such a small denomination of money to people like that.

Pony up, goddamnit!

I'm not saying it's the yakuza, but...

My first thought

i bet they have some preferences about contractor

Exactly. A couple million is nothing to them.

To spell it out. There’s over $999 million in $1 billion. They could solve a lot of shit, but they do not. “Trickle down” is a sales pitch given by snake oil salesmen.

Makes me think of how a supervillain would look after their community

Really does. Has Pablo Escobar vibes to it.

TMNT asking for some renovations

This is so Japan.

A few years ago, they kept train service to one small village because one girl used to it get to school.

Seems like a roundabout way of laundering money at the same time help the community I guess.

You can't make clean drugs with dirty water

I love that.

Wonder if this donor had any cool old tatoos or fingers missing

I would go with an old money family rather than yakuza. The yakuza, and organized crime families in general, like to keep their community help programs out in the open so the locals don't feel inclined to help the police against them. For example, the yakuza have a history of disaster relief and Al Capone ran a soup kitchen.

Enough for like 1 pipe