Share of people who know about their local characters Japan 2019
According to a survey conducted by the Nippon Research Center in October 2019, a majority of around 53 percent of people in Japan stated that they knew about the local mascots of the areas they lived in. By contrast, approximately 39 said that they did not know about their local mascots. In Japan, it is common for so-called local characters, such as the fictional bear Kumamon of Kumamoto Prefecture, to serve as ambassadors for their home cities or prefectures.
