Longterm Expat in Kansai
Japan loves its mascots.
So much so that if you look around, you may find organizations that you wouldn’t think would have one.
Like a prison.
Seriously.
Up in Hokkaido, the city of Asahikawa has one of the more infamous prisons in the country. Not necessarily violent, but certainly not pleasant. They decided they need a publicity makeover.
Enter, Katakkurichan….
Fukuppy is Cool.
Literally.
Fukuppy is the mascot for a refrigeration company based in Osaka.
This little egg came on the scene about 10 days ago. Immediately the English speaking web’s eyebrows actually shot up off of the collective forehead. Fukuppy hit reddit and now the cute little egg with the funny name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Everybody thought that my little friend is from Fukushima-ken, where TEPCO can’t manage to get their game together. But Fukushima Industries Corporation is based in Kansai. (Osaka to be exact.)
The company makes refrigerators for homes and businesses, so has nothing to do with the disaster up north.
The companies site is here:
http://www.fukusima.co.jp/
And the apology press release is here:
http://www.fukusima.co.jp/upload/pdf_seihin/321131016.pdf
I like Fukuppy. The name gets attention and after the confusion is resolved, could be a powerful leg up for the company. My bet is that they will have a HUGE couple of months. You absolutely can’t buy this kind of attention.
To Fukushima-san:
Don’t change the name. Embrace it and get that little egg out there as far and wide as you can. You just don’t get chances like this. π
The Flying Pig is one of my go to sites for getting things that are hard to come by here in Japan.
It is a great way to find those little bits of home that makes life a little easier sometimes. Check out the interview, then check out theflyingpig.com