SASEBO, Nagasaki Pref. (Kyodo) A collection of scarecrows inspired by social issues in the headlines this year has drawn curious onlookers during an annual festival in Hasami, Nagasaki Prefecture.

About 100 scarecrows, including some criticizing the gambling scandal surrounding sumo, have been displayed this year for the town's Onigigo Tanada Matsuri festival.

Among the scarecrows on display around rice paddies is one resembling an abandoned human skeleton, with a sign reading, "Are you there, grandpa . . . ? Sorry about being unaware for 30 years," referring to high-profile cases in which families hid the deaths of elderly relatives, in some cases to bilk the pension system.