Two gold ingots worth a total of around ¥10 million have been sent to a fish market in the disaster-hit city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, by an unnamed donor, market officials said Thursday.
The ingots — 11 cm long, 5 cm wide and 8 mm thick — were sent in a box marked "relief supplies" from the city of Nagano via a parcel service and reached the market's president, Kunio Suno, 69, on Feb. 8. The invoice had the name of a nonexistent support group for the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and no address. The ingots were appraised as 24 carats each by a specialty store.
They will be cashed in and used for reconstruction of the market, which is currently operating in a tent.
"We're really grateful, and our reconstruction efforts will be definitely accelerated," Suno said. "I hope the sender will contact us so we can convey our gratitude."