Campaigners want to bury nation’s utility poles

A group of Japanese celebrities has launched a campaign to bury the nation’s utility poles.

They say Japan’s roughly 35-million utility poles are an eyesore, and that running utilities underground would also help when disaster strikes.

Ruling party member Yuriko Koike says she’ll introduce a bill in Japan’s parliament calling for a halt to new utility pole construction.

While Western countries run utilities underground, Japan erects about 70,000 new utility poles a year.

The campaign has the motto, “Look up when you walk.”