SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

RocketNews24 Japanese

Featured

Japanese City on the Verge of Bankruptcy Puts Name Up For Sale

They say the only thing you have after losing everything is your name.  Not so, says the Izumisano City officials who in the dying moments of their failing economy are considering a plan to sell their naming rights off amongst other ideas.

Residents of the Osaka Prefecture city will be pleased to know that they wouldn’t be selling it to just anyone with money, so the threat of the name becoming Poopiehead City is minimal. From June till the end of November they will be accepting proposals from both foreign and domestic businesses interested in unique ways to advertise using their city’s government and resources.

One idea they are thinking about is negotiating a one to five year lease of naming rights to government offices and streets around the city.  They are also open to the possibility of the winning candidate using public workers’ uniforms for advertising space for the selected candidate.

Rather than simply selling the name, Izumisano officials are hoping that the endeavor will draw the attention of various businesses to the city as a place to operate, bringing jobs and tax revenue to the area.

With the full plan still undecided, opposition from the citizens is likely.  The possibility of having the name decided by a corporation can be dangerous.  Imagine having to live in Sanico’s Tampon Town on the corner of Hemorrhoid Cream Lane and Fungicide Street.  Until a more concrete plan is laid out all they can do is imagine, which is a dangerous thing.

In an effort to calm potential public blowback, city officials reassure residents that if anything it would only likely be a temporary nickname, much like how Kagawa Prefecture is called “Udon Prefecture” after their deliciously prepared thick noodle soup called Sanuki Udon.

The only difference being that Kagawa Prefecture earned that name by its people working hard to develop a great dish, whereas Izumisano is, for lack of a better word, potentially prostituting their name.

When asked about Izumisano’s plans to rent their name for advertising, a spokesperson for Japan’s Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications released a statement saying “Huh, never seen that before.”

Source:  Yomiuri Online  (Japanese)
Google Maps: Izumisano city,Osaka 

View Larger Map

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related Stories

Trackbacks

  1. Weekend Bites: Jules Verne, Adam Levin In The Sunday Review, Edith Wharton, Close To Infinite Jest, And More | Vol. 1 Brooklyn

    March 24, 2012 at 11:17 PM

    […] As WFMU pointed out on Twitter, Infinite Jest is getting closer and closer as a Japanese town puts their name up for sale. […]

  2. Trackback URL

Trending Today

  1. Studio Ghibli adds new Totoro and Jiji blanket socks to its merchandise store in Japan
  2. Japan’s bean sprout shortage hitting Jiro-style ramen businesses hard
  3. We hunt for treasure at an all-you-can-stuff Kanagawa secondhand shop for just 1,000 yen
  4. KFC Japan releases its first thigh-meat fried chicken burger in 43 years, but was it worth the wait?
  5. New Studio Ghibli stamp rally set to start in Japan, with exclusive merchandise for anime fans
  6. We waited three hours to get into the new carb heaven all-you-can-eat bread restaurant in Osaka
  7. American man runs out of money in Japan, gets arrested for overstaying tourist visa
  8. Man in Japan says monkey threw his cat into a pond before attacking him
  9. Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
  10. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest Christmas celebration coming to Yokohama next month

© SoraNews24 —Japan News— / SOCIO CORPORATION

Powered by WordPress VIP

%d