Anonymous Individual Donates Gold Bars Worth ¥566 Mil. to Osaka Municipal Waterworks Bureau

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:57 JST, February 20, 2026

OSAKA — A total of 21 kilograms of gold bars, worth ¥566.54 million, were donated to the Osaka Municipal Waterworks Bureau, the city government announced on Thursday.

The donor, who requested to remain anonymous, expressed hope that the money would be used to help address the aging water pipes. The city government will honor this request and use the money to replace the water pipes.

According to the city, the donation was made on Nov. 18 last year. The donor explained that they decided to donate after seeing news reports about water leaks caused by broken water pipes across the country.

The donated gold bars are equivalent to the replacement cost of approximately 2 kilometers of a typical water pipe.

“It’s an incredible amount of money. I have nothing but words of gratitude,” said Osaka City Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama at a press conference on Thursday.