CUTE BUT NOT SO POPULAR
Japan is known for its "kawaii culture" - a love for anything cute. "Kawaii" means cute. The most famous kawaii symbols of Japan are Hello Kitty and Pokemon. In fact, cuteness is so big in Japan that even guard rails and Shinkansen (bullet trains) have cartoon characters on them! The public loves them and it looks like they will be around for a long time.
Thousands of "yuru-kyara" ("laid-back characters") are used by government bodies like police, traffic safety officials, libraries and even prisons to promote their messages to the public.
Some of these mascots are so successful that they become national celebrities. Examples are Kukamon and NHK's Domo-kun.
Kukamon is a popular mascot used to promote a part of southern Japan. Kukamon is so popular it even appears on keychains and airplanes. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO
The super popular Domo, mascot of NHK, a Japanese TV broadcasting service. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Shorty Awards/AFP
Some other mascots aren't so lucky though. In western Japan, cuddly mascots were recently found to be rather unpopular, so they will be retired. Osaka prefecture's governor wants efforts to be concentrated on the more popular mascots.
Osaka's own mascot, Moppy, was ranked low in popularity during a nation-wide vote in 2013. There are plans for Moppy to have his own family so that he would become more popular.
Osaka prefecture's official mascot for sports affairs, Moppy, which is inspired by a native bird in Osaka. AFP PHOTO / OSAKA PREFECTURAL GOVERNMENT
Looks like it's time to say goodbye to many of the cute mascots. They have worked hard enough and it's time for them to rest.
Featured image: The ever-popular Pokémon. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA
