TOKYO — Japanese authorities were investigating on Friday how a large steel cylinder suddenly emerged from the ground during sewer construction work and rose to the height of a four-story building in the city of Osaka.
A city official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) they had received a report early on Wednesday that the object, a steel casing used for soil retention, was “jutting out of the ground” near highways in Osaka.
“It was not there the previous day,” he said.
OUT OF NOWHERE This photo taken on March 11, 2026, shows a scene at a sewage construction site in the south-central Japanese city of Osaka, where a steel pipe has been pushed upward, protruding more than 10 meters above the ground. JIJI PRESS PHOTO VIA AFP
The incident comes after a massive sinkhole near the capital Tokyo — which swallowed a truck and its driver — appeared last year, highlighting the risk posed by Japan’s aging infrastructure.
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The cylinder — with a diameter of around 3.5 meters — rose 13 m into the air, but had sunk to a height of around 1.6 m by Friday morning after workers rushed to pour water inside to help submerge it.
Two roads in the vicinity — both of which lead to city-center districts — have been closed to traffic since Wednesday, causing congestion, the city official told AFP.
But one reopened on Friday afternoon and the other will be opened “soon,” with city officials considering cutting off the remaining exposed portion of the cylinder, he said.
“We are still investigating the cause of the trouble,” he added.
The incident comes after Osaka announced last month it had received an unusual donation of 21 kilograms of gold to pay for the maintenance of its aging water system.
The donation worth $3.6 million was made in November by a person who had already given $3,300 in cash for the municipal waterworks, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told a press conference.
Work to replace water pipes in Osaka, a city of 2.8 million residents, have hit a snag as the actual cost exceeded the planned budget, local media reported.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said her “responsible and proactive” fiscal spending would include investment in infrastructure.
AloJapan.com