FUKUOKA, Feb 05 (News On Japan) - Koga City in Fukuoka Prefecture has announced that the "osechi" New Year's meal boxes shipped as rewards for hometown tax donations violated national standards for local products. The issue involved four types of "osechi" meals produced by Kasuya Town's food manufacturing company, Hisamatsu, not in Koga City but at the company’s main factory in Kasuya Town, thus breaching the guidelines for local products.

The total donations affected numbered 1,083, amounting to approximately 41.6 million yen.

Koga City has requested Hisamatsu to halt all reward shipments and will offer refunds to donors.

This violation came to light in December last year after a complaint about Hisamatsu's "osechi" being offered as a reward by Tagawa City in Fukuoka Prefecture was filed with the Fukuoka Prefectural Office, leading to an internal investigation.

Similarly, Tagawa City has pledged to refund or replace donations totaling over 178 million yen to affected contributors.

Source: FBS Fukuoka Broadcasting News