The "whiteband" movement in Japan to eradicate poverty in developing countries, using celebrities in a tieup with a public relations company, has had some unexpected results, with misunderstandings and allegations about how the money raised is being used.
Images of soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata and actress Norika Fujiwara raising an arm decorated with a single white wristband and snapping their fingers once in three seconds are shown on a giant screen over a busy intersection in Tokyo's Shibuya district. The message is that due to poverty, a child dies every three seconds in the developing world.
Japanese citizens' groups began the movement in step with European and U.S. groups that launched campaigns before the Gleneagles, Scotland, summit of industrialized countries in July.