Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A large sum of money that was found by a garbage handler in Japan’s Gifu prefecture has been donated to victims of COVID-19.

An employee of a waste processing company found 7 million yen (nearly $70,000) in the garbage at the Blue Box waste treatment unit in Gifu City.

The company handed it over to the police station as a lost-and-found item, but the owner failed to claim the money. Local media quoted the company President Mitsuko Arai, 78, as saying : “I wanted the city to use it for a good cause, so I said let’s give it to those who are having a hard time with COVID-19.”

The cash was discovered last September when a male employee was manually sorting garbage brought into the facility. The cash was found in bundles of 10,000-yen bills.

Arai handed the money over to Mayor Masanao Shibahashi at a presentation ceremony at the city hall on January 26.