An anonymous donation of around ¥100 million ($900,000) in old bank notes has been delivered to the Ehime Prefectural Government, the prefecture said Thursday.
The prefectural government intends to use the money to finance rebuilding efforts to recover from last summer's heavy rain in the region, Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura said at a news conference.
A cardboard box addressed to the governor, containing wads of ¥10,000 bank notes, arrived at the prefectural government office on Jan. 29. In a handwritten letter in the box, the donor asked for the money to be put to good use, according to the prefecture.
As some of the faded bank notes are stuck together and difficult to separate, the prefectural government will ask the Bank of Japan to verify their authenticity and replace them with new ones.
"We will use it for the welfare of people in the prefecture in accordance with the donor's wishes," Nakamura said.