Tsunami-hit Japanese town gets huge Christmas gift

JAPAN: A small Japanese town devastated by last year’s quake-sparked tsunami was expected to receive a huge Christmas present after a ship arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday carrying a six-ton statue destined for the community.

The giant present crossed the ocean from Chile which had pledged to supply a new statue -- modelled on the mysterious carvings at Easter Island -- to Minami Sanriku’s tiny fishing community after the town’s original was destroyed in last year’s quake-sparked tsunami disaster. The five-metre (16 foot) Moai statue arrived in the Japanese capital about a month after leaving Chile.

AFP