JAPAN’s second-oldest museum has raised ¥480 million (RM15.3 million) via crowdfunding after reportedly being denied additional financial support to cover soaring utility bills to preserve its collection of animal and plant specimens.

More than 30,000 people donated to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, easily surpassing the ¥100 million target, campaign platform Readyfor said today.

Head of the 146-year-old museum Kenichi Shinoda said in a video on Monday that they wanted to save the museum’s collections, which he called “gifts from the past to the future”.

He said energy bills to keep some of its five million artefacts – ranging from dinosaur bones to stuffed bears – at constant temperatures and humidity levels are expected to almost double this fiscal year to more than US$2.6 million (RM11.9 million).

The cash-strapped Japanese government turned down the museum’s request for more funding, and is even reducing its subsidies, according to media reports.

The museum in central Tokyo, which features a model of a blue whale outside, previously turned to crowdfunding for three smaller projects, but the ¥100 million goal was “the highest ever” for the institution, said Shinoda.

He said museum staff have prepared unique gifts for donors in return, such as acrylic resin plant specimens, a museum tour by the president, and a study session that allows participants to touch ancient human bones.

Shinoda said in the video that some people advised him to lower the target, but it was reached in a matter of hours.

“Researchers and staff are touched to have received a great deal of support,” the museum said on the campaign website.

The crowdfunding continues until November 5. – AFP, August 9, 2023.