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A statue of Hachikō is installed outside Tokyo's Shibuya Station, in Japan.

History

In April 1934, a bronze statue based in his likeness sculpted by Teru Ando was erected at Shibuya Station (35°39′32.6″N 139°42′2.1″E / 35.659056°N 139.700583°E / 35.659056; 139.700583), and Hachikō himself was present at its unveiling. The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War II. In 1948, the Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned Takeshi Ando, son of the original artist, to make a second statue. When the new statue appeared, a dedication ceremony occurred. The new statue, which was erected in August 1948, still stands and is a popular meeting spot. The station entrance near this statue is named "Hachikō-guchi", meaning "The Hachikō Entrance/Exit", and is one of Shibuya Station's five exits.

The Japan Times played an April Fools' joke on readers by reporting that the bronze statue was stolen a little before 2:00 AM on April 1, 2007, by "suspected metal thieves". The false story told a very detailed account of an elaborate theft by men wearing khaki workers' uniforms who secured the area with orange safety cones and obscured the theft with blue vinyl tarps. The "crime" was allegedly recorded on security cameras.

References

1. Newman, Lesléa. Hachiko Waits. Macmillan, 2004. 91. Retrieved from Google Books on February 25, 2011. ISBN 0-8050-7336-1, ISBN 978-0-8050-7336-2.
2. "METAL THIEVES SUSPECTED: Shibuya's 'loyal dog Hachiko' vanishes overnight". The Japan Times. April 1, 2007. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011.

• 1948 establishments in Japan