Elderly woman donates Y1 bil in cash to hometown

woman donated 1 billion yen in cash Friday to her hometown of Minamiashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the occasion of her 88th birthday to promote education and sports.


Chizuko Yokomizo, a resident of the seaside resort town of Oiso in the same prefecture, said she decided more than 40 years ago to donate 1 billion yen when she turned 88 and continued to save money to achieve that goal.

The cash — 100 bundles of banknotes each containing 10 million yen — were piled up in a pyramid form in a conference room on the third floor of the city hall. They weighed about 100 kilograms.

The amount, which is equal to 6.7% of the city government's general-account budget for fiscal 2006, is equivalent to about 53 percent of its education expenses.

"It is the greatest happiness in my life to be able to do this favor for my hometown," Yokomizo said. "I'd like to continue my efforts for children's education as long as I live."

The city government plans to establish a Yokomizo memorial fund aimed at promoting children's sports and cultural activities, helping child raising and assisting in educational studies, officials said.

Born in 1919, Yokomizo was raised by her parents who were teachers, and became a high school teacher herself.

After World War II, Yokomizo and her late husband established a kitchen equipment business venture that resulted in great success.

In 1999, she donated 500 million yen to the Oiso municipal government which used the money to build a welfare facility for handicapped people.

Minamiashigara, with a population of 44,000, is located in the mountains some 80 kilometers southwest of central Tokyo.