Society

Horyuji temple reaches crowdfunding target in less than 12 hours

Jun 16 (NHK) - Horyuji temple in Japan's ancient capital of Nara has achieved its crowdfunding target for the maintenance of the compound in less than half a day.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site has been hit hard financially as visitor numbers have plunged due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The temple launched the campaign at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, with the goal of raising 20 million yen, or about 148,000 dollars, by July 29. It says the target was met in less than 12 hours, at around 30 minutes past midnight.

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, more than 1,600 people had donated a total of roughly 28 million yen, or 208,000 dollars.

Horyuji's chief priest had announced the crowdfunding campaign at a news conference on Wednesday. He explained that admissions fees -- the temple's main revenue source -- had plunged to half of the pre-pandemic level.

He said the temple is unable to carry out sufficient maintenance of the compound, such as taking care of the trees and plants, due to fund shortages.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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