Thou shalt not litter
Thu 2 December, 2004 04:29
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese town has found divine help in ridding its car parks and roadsides of litter discarded by tourists passing through on their way to nearby ski resorts.
Authorities in the town of Nagato in the mountains of central Japan's Nagano prefecture placed statues of Jizo, whose role in Buddhism is to help others find enlightenment, at parking spots on a main road through the town.
In the four months since the appearance of the statues, carved by local residents, litter has almost disappeared, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday.
"I can't drop litter now, not with the statue looking at me," NHK quoted one driver as saying.
