December 25, 2003
Christmas in Nagoya
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A 26-year-old Gifu man who made more than half a million dollars playing the stock market earlier this month went to the observation deck of Nagoya TV Tower and threw a million yen's worth (about $10,000) of paper money to the street below late Tuesday afternoon. The money was in one-dollar U.S. currency and old 100-yen bills. The 100 yen bills have been out of circulation for decades and is no longer legal tender; the man apparently bought them off the Internet.
"I have too much money. I don't need it," the man said. "I wanted to give some back to the world." The gesture of generosity was not against the law, but police did take him in for questioning. He was able to throw most of the money through the metal grates on the tower, but left a good amount on the observation deck floor as well. About $1,000 was returned by passers-by, and the police gave it back to the man.
