Del Piero shifts T-shirts for Japan quake relief

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Former Italy striker Alessandro del Piero has gone into the T-shirt business to help raise money for quake-stricken parts of northern Japan, local media reported on Saturday.

The Juventus player has launched a line of T-shirts emblazoned with the Japanese and Italian flags and the Chinese character "Tomo" (friends) for 15 euros each.

"I have so many beautiful memories from the 2002 World Cup (in Japan and South Korea)," del Piero was quoted as saying in the Nikkan Sports newspaper.

"My heart hurts to think about (quake-hit) Sendai, where we had our training camp," added the 36-year-old. "I would like to ask as many people as possible to support this project."

More than 11,000 people were killed by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed on March 11, while over 15,000 are still missing.