Olympic figure skater Hanyu's parade brings $16 mil. benefits

A parade held this spring to celebrate two-time figure skating Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu in his native Sendai in northeastern Japan generated an estimated 1.85 billion yen ($16 million) worth of economic impact, its organizer said Friday.The local hotel and restaurant industries largely felt the benefits as some 24,600 came to see the parade on April 22 in the capital of Miyagi Prefecture from other Japanese regions and about 400 from overseas, the organizer said. A total of 108,000 turned out for the event.The 23-year-old paraded through a 1.1-kilometer stretch of street in downtown Se…READ FULL ARTICLE