According a recent valuation, forestry on the western side of Lake Biwa purchased by the Osaka Waterworks Bureau in 1988 for 917 million Yen has dropped in value by almost 98% to just 22 million Yen.
To date, the Bureau has spent 18 million Yen managing the land.
Starting this year, regional public enterprises will switch over to private corporate accounting systems which require the reporting of asset values and losses.
In 1985, the Bureau had made 1 billion Yen on the sale of land and were looking to acquire additional land as a way of storing the money. After considering several offerings from real estate agents, they settled on the land near Lake Biwa. The supervisor at the time said they believed the purchase could provide some positive PR since the land was a natural water source and acquiring the land meant they could protect the water quality. Despite the publicity efforts, the Bureau actually had no specific plans for the land.