2026年2月20日 / 美国东部时间上午6:25 / CBS/美联社
东京—大阪市收到了一位匿名捐赠者捐赠的巨额金条，总价值5.6亿日元（约合360万美元）。捐赠者明确要求这笔资金用于特定用途：修复日本这座城市破旧的水管。
大阪市市长横山秀幸周四向记者表示，这批总重46磅的金条已于去年11月捐赠给大阪市水道局，捐赠者希望借此帮助改善老化的水管系统。
“数量惊人，我一时语塞，”横山秀幸说，“解决老化水管问题需要巨额投资，我对这份捐赠感激不尽。”
市长表示，该市将尊重捐赠者的意愿，用这笔款项推进水务工程建设。
去年，大阪市一个巨大的天坑吞噬了一辆卡车并造成司机死亡，此后市民对该市供水系统的安全问题愈发担忧。
2025年1月28日，在日本埼玉县八潮市，一辆卡车被天坑吞噬后，消防员正在营救卡车司机。 STR/时事社/法新社/盖蒂图片社
该天坑宽约33英尺、深约20英尺，与东京北部埼玉县一段损坏的下水道管道有关。
截至2025年3月的财年，大阪市市内道路下共有92起水管泄漏案例，市水道局官员小谷英二周五向美联社透露。大阪市人口约280万，是日本第三大城市，也是日本西部的商业中心。
小谷英二解释道，日本大多数主要公共基础设施都是在战后经济快速增长时期建造的。大阪作为区域商业中心，其城市发展起步早于许多其他城市，因此水管等基础设施的老化速度也更快。
据小谷英二介绍，大阪市总共需要更换160英里长的水管。更换一段1.2英里长的水管大约需要5亿日元（约合320万美元）。
（大阪市天际线照片，日期不详。Krzysztof Baranowski/盖蒂图片社）
Anonymous donor gives Japanese city of Osaka 46 pounds of gold bars to fund water pipe repairs
February 20, 2026 / 6:25 AM EST / CBS/AP
Tokyo—Osaka has received a hefty gift of gold bars worth 560 million yen (about $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 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.
Concern over the safety of Osaka’s waterworks systems grew after a massive sinkhole swallowed a truck and killed the driver last year.
Firefighters attempt to rescue a truckdriver after his vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole, in Yashio city, Saitama, Japan, Jan. 28, 2025. STR/JIJI Press/AFP/Getty
The sinkhole, which was about 33 feet wide and 20 feet deep, was linked to a damaged sewer pipe in Saitama, north of Tokyo.
Osaka had 92 cases of water pipe leaks under city roads in the fiscal year ending March 2025, the city’s waterworks official Eiji Kotani told The Associated Press on Friday. With the population of 2.8 million, Osaka is the country’s third-largest city that serves as a western Japanese capital.
Most of Japan’s main public infrastructure was built during the rapid postwar economic growth. Urban development in Osaka, a regional commercial hub, started earlier than many other cities and its water pipes and other infrastructure are also aging earlier, Kotani said.
The skyline of Osaka, Japan, is seen in an undated file photo. Krzysztof Baranowski/Getty
Osaka needs to renew a total of 160 miles of water pipes, he said. Renewing a 1.2 mile segment of water pipes would cost about 500 million yen ($3.2 million), according to Kotani.
发表回复