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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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Shizuoka Pref. launches tourist campaign amid COVID pandemic

Photo taken on Dec. 16, 2020, shows panels featuring characters from popular Japanese anime Yuru Camp, literally translated as "laid-back camp," beside rental car counters at Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka. Local authorities launched a campaign earlier in the month offering camping and outdoor goods on a rental basis for rental car users planning to visit camping sites in Shizuoka Prefecture, in response to dwindling tourist numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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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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National mascot contest held in central Japan

TOKONAME, Japan - An opening ceremony is held for an annual national popularity contest for "yuru-chara" mascots on Nov. 1, 2014, at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. "Yuru-chara" translates as "loose or soft characters."

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Mascot characters form "party" to vivify local economies

SAITAMA, Japan - Six mascot characters from as many cities in four prefectures (Iwate, Tochigi, Saitama and Kanagawa) gather at JR Omiya Station in Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Aug. 25, 2014, to form a "Yuru-to" party to make a sales pitch for their respective regional economies.

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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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Young designer's 3D printing garment wins award in New Zealand

STORY: Young designer's 3D printing garment wins award in New Zealand DATELINE: Oct. 1, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:33 LOCATION: Wellington CATEGORY: CULTURE SHORTLIST: 1. various of young designer Sun Ye's 3D garment showed at this year's WOW 2. various of the WOW this year STORYLINE: Young designer Sun Ye was awarded the best design in Monochromatic section during the Awarding Night of 2022 World of WearableArt (WOW) here on Friday. Sun is among award winners this year across six sections, Aotearoa, Avant-garde, Open, Architecture, Elizabethan Era and Monochromatic as the 2022 WOW Awards were announced at Wellington's TSB Arena, with the Supreme WOW Award going to New Zealand artist Kate MacKenzie. Sun said that all their efforts in the past years were finally rewarded, with tears bursting in her eyes. The garment, named LIFE, is a co-design work with Ma Yuru and Zhou Honglei. "I am the only lucky one to be here tonight though," Sun told Xinhua after the awarding ceremony, "It is a great honor to be with all th

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NEW ZEALAND-WELLINGTON-CHINA-2022 WOW-AWARD

(221001) -- WELLINGTON, Oct. 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- A model presents LIFE, a 3D-printed creation by Chinese designers Sun Ye, Ma Yuru and Zhou Honglei, during the 2022 World of WearableArt (WOW) in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 29, 2022. Sun Ye was awarded the best design in Monochromatic section during the Awarding Night of 2022 WOW here on Friday. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

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NEW ZEALAND-WELLINGTON-CHINA-2022 WOW-AWARD

(221001) -- WELLINGTON, Oct. 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- A model presents LIFE, a 3D-printed creation by Chinese designers Sun Ye, Ma Yuru and Zhou Honglei, during the 2022 World of WearableArt (WOW) in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 29, 2022. Sun Ye was awarded the best design in Monochromatic section during the Awarding Night of 2022 WOW here on Friday. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

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NEW ZEALAND-WELLINGTON-CHINA-2022 WOW-AWARD

(221001) -- WELLINGTON, Oct. 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- A model presents LIFE, a 3D-printed creation by Chinese designers Sun Ye, Ma Yuru and Zhou Honglei, during the 2022 World of WearableArt (WOW) in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 29, 2022. Sun Ye was awarded the best design in Monochromatic section during the Awarding Night of 2022 WOW here on Friday. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

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Mascot gathering in Gifu, Japan

About 40 mascots from around Japan gather on a shopping street in Gifu on Dec. 19, 2015. Among the mascots, known as "yuru-chara," literally meaning "loose characters," are 2015 yuru-chara Grand Prix winner "Ieyasu-kun" and "Gunma-chan." (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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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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Mascot characters from Japan, abroad gather for festival in Saitama Pref.

Hikonyan (C), a mascot character of the western Japanese city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, is among some 400 "yuru-chara" (loose character) mascots from Japan and abroad gathered in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, for the sixth World Character Summit on Nov. 21, 2015. (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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National mascot contest held in central Japan

TOKONAME, Japan - An opening ceremony is held for an annual national popularity contest for "yuru-chara" mascots on Nov. 1, 2014, at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. "Yuru-chara" translates as "loose or soft characters." (Kyodo)

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Mascot characters form "party" to vivify local economies

SAITAMA, Japan - Six mascot characters from as many cities in four prefectures (Iwate, Tochigi, Saitama and Kanagawa) gather at JR Omiya Station in Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Aug. 25, 2014, to form a "Yuru-to" party to make a sales pitch for their respective regional economies. (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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Annual mascot contest in Japan

Photo taken at the Nagano prefectural government office on March 29, 2019, shows Arukuma (2nd from R), a mascot character of the central Japan prefecture, promoting the annual national "yuru-chara" mascot contest ahead of the event in Nagano in November. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mascot contest in Japan

Kapal (C), a mascot representing the city of Shiki, in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, wins the grand prix at an annual national "yuru-chara" mascot character contest in Higashiosaka, western Japan, on Nov. 18, 2018. Runner-up Jabow (R) from the city of Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, and third-place Konyudo-kun from the city of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, are also on stage. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mascot contest in Japan

Kapal, a mascot representing the city of Shiki, in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, wins the grand prix at an annual national "yuru-chara" mascot character contest in Higashiosaka, western Japan, on Nov. 18, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mascot contest in Japan

Konyudo-kun, a mascot representing the city of Yokkaichi, central Japan, finishes third at an annual national "yuru-chara" mascot character contest in Higashiosaka, western Japan, on Nov. 18, 2018. (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