Japan town uses its Covid-19 relief funds to build a giant pink squid statue

日本一个小镇用新冠肺炎救援资金建造了一个巨型粉色乌贼雕像

The sea creature - which is four metres high and is nine metres long - popped up in Noto, a seaside town in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. It reportedly cost around 30 million yen (£197,000)

这只高4米、长9米的海洋生物突然出现在日本石川县的海边小镇能登。据报道，这雕像的花费约为3000万日元(约合19.7万英镑)。


The giant squid statue was built using Covid-19 subsidies (Image: via REUTERS)

巨型乌贼雕像是利用新冠补贴建造的（上图）

A Japanese town has used part of its Covid-19 relief funds to build a statue of a giant pink squid in the hope of boosting tourism after the coronavirus pandemic.

日本一城镇动用部分新冠救援资金建造了一个巨型粉红乌贼雕像，希望在新冠疫情后促进旅游业发展。

The sea creature - which is four metres high and is nine metres long - popped up in Noto, a seaside town in the Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's central-west coast.

这只高4米、长9米的海洋生物突然出现在日本中西部海岸石川县的一个海滨小镇能登。

Locals were left baffled, with some people questioning whether the relief money should have been used in a different way.

当地居民感到困惑，一些人质疑这些救济资金是否应该以另一种方式使用。

The town, where flying squid is a typical local dish, reportedly used 25 million yen - the equivalent of about £165,000 - out of a total of 800 million yen (£5.2 million) of emergency funding received by the central government to build the statue.

据报道，飞乌贼是小镇的一道典型菜肴，建造该雕像使用了从中央政府收到的总计8亿日元(520万英镑)紧急资金中的2500万日元，大约相当于16.5万英镑 。


According to local media, it was built in the hope of boosting tourism following the coronavirus pandemic (Image: via REUTERS)

据当地媒体报道，该项目是为了在新冠疫情后促进旅游业发展（上图）

Total construction costs were around 30 million yen (£197,000), domestic media reported.

据日本国内媒体报道，建筑总成本约为3000万日元(约合19.7万英镑)。

It comes as Japan battles another surge in coronavirus cases and, although the city has had few infections, it has been impacted by a drop in visitors.

与此同时，日本正在与另一波激增的新冠病例作斗争，尽管这座城市的病例很少，但游客数量下降也对其产生了影响。

The giant squid statue is said to be part of a programme by the local government to boost the number of tourists amid the pandemic, according to local media.

据当地媒体报道，巨型乌贼雕像是当地政府在疫情期间增加游客数量计划的一部分。

It is believed construction of the pink cephalopod began in October 2020 and the finished statue was moved to its current home in March of this year.

据信，这个粉色软体动物的建造始于2020年10月，完成后的雕像于今年3月被搬到现在的家。
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Squid is a local delicacy in Noto and building the statue was part of a "long-term strategy" to raise awareness about the town's fishing industry and increase tourism, a local government official said.

一位当地政府官员表示，乌贼是能登的当地美食，建造这尊雕像是一项“长期战略”的一部分，目的是提高人们对该镇捕鱼业的认识，并促进旅游业的发展。

Some people shared their disappointment on social media, arguing that the money should have been spent differently, with a person writing: "No matter how you look at it, this is wrong. They have to return that money."

一些人在社交媒体上分享了他们的失望，认为这些钱应该换一种方式花。有人写道:“无论你怎么看，这都是错误的。他们必须把钱还回去。”

A local told Chunichi Shimbun newspaper that while the statue may actually boost tourism in the long run, the money could have been used to provide "urgent support" - for example, for medical staff and long-term care facilities.

一位当地居民告诉《中日新闻报》，虽然从长远来看，这座雕像实际上可能会促进旅游业的发展，但这笔钱本可以用于提供“紧急支援”，比如医护人员和长期护理设施。

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Japan recorded 612,360 cases and 10,470 Covid-related deaths.

自疫情开始以来，日本已有612,360例病例和10,470例与新冠肺炎相关的死亡病例记录。