There is a lot of talk online about the giant squid located in a seaside town in Japan.



On the 4th of the local time, foreign media such as CNN in the US reported that Japanese Ishikawa Prefecture authorities have produced a squid sculpture that is 13 meters long and 4 meters high with the government's support for Corona 19.



The Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, which faces the sea on three sides, is known as a specialty of ``squid'' in Japan.

Ishikawa Prefecture, which received 800 million yen (approximately 8,240 million won) of Corona 19 support from the central government, spent 25 million yen (approximately 260 million won) of which to create a giant model that mimics local specialties.



In addition to the subsidy, an additional local budget of about 5 million yen was spent, and the total budget for the production of squid sculptures amounted to about 30 million yen (approximately 310 million won).




Yisaka Prefecture government official said, "It is a long-term strategy to create a sculpture squid Noto harbor"

"increase interest in our local fisheries and, ultimately, will enable a party to revive tourism to the local economy,"

he said.



In addition, when the Japanese central government distributed the Corona 19 support fund to each region in December last year, it did not specify or limit the purpose of use of the fund, so it was argued that the use of the fund to construct squid sculptures was not a problem.




As the local authorities wished, photos of'Giant Squid' taken by tourists at Noto Port were poured out on social media.

There was also sympathy with the opinion that the local authorities desperately want to see the long-term economic effects intended by the local authorities.



However, there were many voices criticizing, "Whatever the intention, it is wrong to use the Corona 19 subsidies for sculptures."



A village resident who responded to an interview with the local media said, "It would have been better if the subsidies were spent a little more on people in need, such as medical staff and nursing home workers."

Another netizen pointed out, "It's about bringing people together with the subsidies paid to quell the 4th coronavirus pandemic."



This is'News Pick'.



(Photo ='TheTonarinopoti' YouTube)