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【Breaking News】"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

HIKONE, Japan, Oct. 19 Kyodo - More than 100 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from 32 prefectures across Japan as well as from abroad gather for a two-day annual event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Kyodo)

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"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

More than 100 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from 32 prefectures across Japan as well as from abroad gather for a two-day annual event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024.

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"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

More than 100 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from 32 prefectures across Japan as well as from abroad gather for a two-day annual event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024.

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"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

More than 100 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from 32 prefectures across Japan as well as from abroad gather for a two-day annual event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024.

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"Yuru-kyara" mascot contest begins in quake-hit city in western Japan

"Yuru-Kyara" mascots from various municipalities in Japan gather at Izanagi Shrine in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, on Oct. 27, 2023, as the three-day "Yuru-Verse" popularity contest begins in the western Japan city devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. The annual contest was launched after the March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan to give moral support to the affected regions.

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Tochigi's "Sanomaru" wins mascot competition

SAITAMA, Japan - "Sanomaru" (left), the local mascot of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, receives congratulations from "Kumamon," the black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, after winning the "yuru-kyara" (loose character) grand prix competition, the results of which were announced in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, on Nov. 24, 2013.

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"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

HIKONE, Japan - The annual festival of cute-looking local mascots, collectively known as "yuru-kyara" (loose characters), opens in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 20, 2012, with a record number of 244 characters participating, including one from Saipan.

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"Yuru-kyara" local mascot festival

HIKONE, Japan - The annual festival of cute-looking local mascots, collectively known as "yuru-kyara" (loose characters), opens in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 20, 2012, with a record number of 244 characters participating, including one from Saipan.

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'Yuru-kyara' festival in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - About 50 mascot characters called ''Yuru-kyara,'' meaning gentle or relaxed characters, gather during a festival at Nagoya Castle in Aichi Prefecture on Oct. 2, 2010.

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2015 national mascot character contest in Japan

Photo taken in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu on Nov. 23, 2015, shows the three most popular "yuru-kyara" mascot characters voted in the annual national contest. "Ieyasu-kun"(C), created from Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, won the contest. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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'Yuru-kyara' mascot characters gather in Hikone, western Japan

More than 200 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from 43 prefectures across Japan gather for a two-day event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 17, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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DPJ mascot to compete in Yuru Kyara Grand Prix

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan's mascot Minshu-kun poses for photos with DPJ Secretary General Yukio Edano on Aug. 19, 2015, in Tokyo. Edano announced the mascot's participation in this year's Yuru Kyara Grand Prix to be held in November. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Some 400 mascots from Japan and abroad gather in Saitama Pref.

Some 400 mascot characters, known as "yuru-kyara" (loose characters), from in and outside Japan gather for the sixth World Character Summit in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Nov. 21, 2015. The local mascot festival has been held every year since 2010. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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'Yuru-kyara' festival in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan - About 50 mascot characters called ''Yuru-kyara,'' meaning gentle or relaxed characters, gather during a festival at Nagoya Castle in Aichi Prefecture on Oct. 2, 2010. (Kyodo)

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Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Takata-no-Yumechan (C), the official mascot of Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate, is announced as the winner of Japan's 10th and final "yuru-kyara" mascot competition in Takizawa in the prefecture on Oct. 4, 2020.

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Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Takata-no-Yumechan, the official mascot of Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate, is announced as the winner of Japan's 10th and final "yuru-kyara" mascot competition in Takizawa in the prefecture on Oct. 4, 2020.

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Final edition of Japan mascot contest

Photo shows Takata-no-yumechan, a mascot from Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 3, 2020, the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa in the northeastern Japan prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event aimed at boosting regional economies will end this year.

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Final edition of Japan mascot contest

Photo shows a mascot (L) from Izumisano in Osaka Prefecture, called Yurunakin, on Oct. 3, 2020, the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event aimed at boosting regional economies will end this year.

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Final edition of Japan mascot contest

Photo shows Tsurugon, a mascot from Tsurugashima in Saitama Prefecture, on Oct. 3, 2020, the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event aimed at boosting regional economies will end this year.

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Final edition of Japan mascot contest

A woman (L) poses for a photo with a mascot on Oct. 3, 2020, on the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event will end this year.

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Final edition of Japan mascot contest

A girl poses for a photo with a mascot on Oct. 3, 2020, on the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event will end this year.

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Annual mascot contest in Japan

Arukuma, the mascot character of the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, is chosen as most popular "yuru-kyara" character at an annual national mascot contest in Nagano on Nov. 3, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Annual mascot contest in Japan

Arukuma (C), the mascot character of the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, is chosen as most popular "yuru-kyara" character at an annual national mascot contest in Nagano on Nov. 3, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Annual mascot contest in Japan

Arukuma (R), the mascot character of the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, is chosen as most popular "yuru-kyara" character at an annual national mascot contest in Nagano on Nov. 3, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Annual mascot contest in Japan

Arukuma (2nd from L), the mascot character of the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, is chosen as most popular "yuru-kyara" character at an annual national mascot contest in Nagano on Nov. 3, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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"Yuru-kyara" mascot characters gather in Hikone, western Japan

A total of 213 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from across Japan gather for a two-day event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 15, 2016. The event has been held every year since 2008. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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"Yuru-kyara" mascot characters gather in Hikone, western Japan

A total of 213 "yuru-kyara" mascot characters from across Japan gather for a two-day event in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 15, 2016. The event has been held every year since 2008. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo