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China: Qingdao Cat Goes Viral for Adorable “Beckoning” at Café Counter

On November 21, 2025, in Qingdao, Shandong, a tabby cat at the “One Tree Cat Life” café stood on the counter and rhythmically moved its front paws, as if politely bowing. Glancing at the camera with wide, pleading eyes, the gesture was irresistibly cute. Chinese netizens joked, “The owner couldn’t afford a Maneki-neko, so the real cat took over!” The video quickly went viral as a symbol of good luck.

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Japan sends posters to Ukraine calling for fair election

TOKYO, Japan - This poster featuring ''maneki neko (beckoning cat believed to bring luck)'' will be put up at over 30,000 polling stations during the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine. It reads: ''I support a fair election. And you?'' The Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 22 that it is donating 4.5 million yen to a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization to help finance the campaign.

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Lesser panda gestures like "beckoning cat"

CHIBA, Japan - A lesser panda gestures like Japanese "maneki neko" beckoning cat ornaments that are believed to bring good luck at Chiba Zoological Park in the city of Chiba on May 24, 2012.

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Lesser panda gestures like "beckoning cat"

CHIBA, Japan - A lesser panda (R) gestures like Japanese "maneki neko" beckoning cat ornaments that are believed to bring good luck at Chiba Zoological Park in the city of Chiba on May 24, 2012.

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Feline station master Tama tourism promoter

WAKAYAMA, Japan - Tama, a feline ''station master'' at Wakayama Electric Railway Co.'s Kishi Station, is held by President Mitsunobu Kojima (L) during a ceremony at the station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, on Jan. 5, 2011. Wakayama Gov. Yoshinobu Nisaka (R) designated the cat as a special tourism promoter called ''maneki daimyojin'' (a deity beckoning people).

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'Beckoning cats' selling like hot cakes as general election nears

OWARIASAHI, Japan - An employee at ceramic ware maker Tamazen in the city of Owariasahi in Aichi smiles alongside some of the company's hot-selling ''maneki neko'' -- decorative figures of beckoning cats believed to invite good fortune -- ahead of voting day in the Aug. 30 House of representatives election. The company is getting a rush of orders from election workers for the figures, decorated with leopard-skin marks, to attract votes, called ''hyo'' in Japanese, the same pronunciation as another Japanese word meaning leopard.

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Japan sends posters to Ukraine calling for fair election

TOKYO, Japan - This poster featuring ''maneki neko (beckoning cat believed to bring luck)'' will be put up at over 30,000 polling stations during the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine. It reads: ''I support a fair election. And you?'' The Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 22 that it is donating 4.5 million yen to a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization to help finance the campaign. (Kyodo)

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Hiroshige - 53 Stations of the Tokaido - Print 5

5 Hodogaya - A bridge over a stream, and across it two coolies are carrying a closed kago towards a village on the opposite bank; behind the village rises a low wooden hill. At this countryside station the travellers had covered a distance of 34 km from Edo and were well into the mood of travelling. By the bridge stands a restaurant which serves Soba (buckwheat noodle) and waitresses stand in front beckoning travellers to the restaurant. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858). The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido - Hoeido edition (1831-4) Date: 1831 - 1834

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ANGELS AND INSECTS

ANGELS AND INSECTS [US / BR 1995] KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Date: 1995

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BIG NIGHT

BIG NIGHT STANLEY TUCCI BIG NIGHT STANLEY TUCCI Date: 1996

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'Beckoning cats' selling like hot cakes as general election nears

OWARIASAHI, Japan - An employee at ceramic ware maker Tamazen in the city of Owariasahi in Aichi smiles alongside some of the company's hot-selling ''maneki neko'' -- decorative figures of beckoning cats believed to invite good fortune -- ahead of voting day in the Aug. 30 House of representatives election. The company is getting a rush of orders from election workers for the figures, decorated with leopard-skin marks, to attract votes, called ''hyo'' in Japanese, the same pronunciation as another Japanese word meaning leopard. (Kyodo)

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World Bank staff beckoning prospective Japanese colleagues

WASHINGTON, United States - Key staff of the World Bank Professionals (L to R) -- Yuki Murakami, Akihiko Nishio and Hana Yoshimoto -- pose after an interview with Kyodo News at the World Bank headquarters on Dec. 1, 2009. (Kyodo)

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Feline station master Tama tourism promoter

WAKAYAMA, Japan - Tama, a feline ''station master'' at Wakayama Electric Railway Co.'s Kishi Station, is held by President Mitsunobu Kojima (L) during a ceremony at the station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, on Jan. 5, 2010. Wakayama Gov. Yoshinobu Nisaka (R) designated the cat as a special tourism promoter called ''maneki daimyojin'' (a deity beckoning people). (Kyodo)

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Lesser panda gestures like "beckoning cat"

CHIBA, Japan - A lesser panda (R) gestures like Japanese "maneki neko" beckoning cat ornaments that are believed to bring good luck at Chiba Zoological Park in the city of Chiba on May 24, 2012. (Kyodo)

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Lesser panda gestures like "beckoning cat"

CHIBA, Japan - A lesser panda gestures like Japanese "maneki neko" beckoning cat ornaments that are believed to bring good luck at Chiba Zoological Park in the city of Chiba on May 24, 2012. (Kyodo)

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Giant cat sculpture in southwestern Japan

Passers-by look at a wooden sculpture representing a "manekineko" beckoning cat, regarded as inviting good luck in Japan, in Oita city, southwestern Japan, on April 19, 2019. The sculpture, more than 10 meters long, will be on display in the city, a host city of the Rugby World Cup starting in September, through the end of the tournament in November. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Beckoning cats at temple in Tokyo

"Maneki-neko" beckoning cats are pictured at Gotoku temple in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2018. The temple is known for its extensive collection of beckoning cats, a good-luck charm believed to bring prosperity to businesses, that people offer in return for wishes that have been granted. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo