[Sunday Culture] "Earning 1 trillion won annually from a single character"... Japan's enthusiasm for creating local characters

150 Million Won Donation for Susakishi Character Statue Construction
Chasing Kumamon... Regional Character Competitions Also Emerge

‘Kumamon’, ‘Funassyi’... Do you know these Japanese characters that were once popular in Korea? Kumamon, the bear who sometimes stands with a blank expression after making a mistake while trying to help, and Funassyi, the lively pear character more energetic than most celebrity guests, are still occasionally mentioned on social networking services (SNS).

In fact, these friends are regional characters created to promote their local areas. Since Japan is famous for manga and animation, there is a general atmosphere of starting by creating at least one mascot. This week, the story of these regional characters became a hot topic in Japan. In a crowdfunding campaign to build a statue of a regional character, 150 million yen (about 150 million KRW) was raised in just one month. Today, we introduce the story of 'Yurukyara,' regional characters that are loved even more because they embody the characteristics of their regions.

The Kumamoto Prefecture character Kumamon on his way to work. (Photo by Kumamon Official Website)

Yurukyara is a compound word combining the Japanese word 'yurui' (緩い), meaning 'loose' or 'laid-back,' and the Japanese expression for character, 'kyarakut?' (キャラクタ?). First, it carries the promotional meaning of inviting people to come to the region and relax leisurely. Also, since these characters are not official manga characters, they have somewhat clumsy aspects, which is why they were given this name.

On the 4th, Asahi Shimbun reported that in Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture, 15.36 million yen (about 150 million KRW) was raised in just over a month through crowdfunding for the construction of a statue of the mascot 'Shinj?-kun.' This amount far exceeded the initial goal of 7 million yen (about 65 million KRW), so the statue's height was increased from 50 cm to 120 cm, and lighting was also planned.

Shinj?-kun is so popular that he already took first place in the 2016 Yurukyara Grand Prix, which ranks Yurukyara nationwide. Shinj?-kun is modeled after the last Japanese otter spotted in the Shinj? River that runs through Susaki City. He wears a Susaki City’s hot pot ramen hat on his head. After conducting an online vote among various characters, he was born as a star. The character is now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to commemorate this, the statue construction project was planned.

Sasaki City character Shinjo-gun. (Photo by Shinjo-gun Official Website)

On the last night of the crowdfunding campaign, Shinj?-kun even hosted a live broadcast to encourage donations. The statue, created under the slogan 'Let’s become a new tourist spot,' is scheduled to be unveiled in September at the city’s character festival.

In Japan, the love for these regional characters is tremendous. Until 2020, there was an annual competition to rank regional characters. Kumamon from Kumamoto Prefecture, familiar to us, was the character that took first place in 2011. The character is a bear inspired by the first syllable of Kumamoto (熊本), 'kuma,' which means bear in Japanese. Staying true to its concept, Kumamon adds 'kuma' at the end of every sentence on its SNS accounts. Even the morning greeting 'Ohay? gozaimasu' is called 'Ohakuma.' In this way, Yurukyara faithfully fulfill their roles by embodying the characteristics and concepts of their regions.

Let’s look at another popular character. Sanomaru, who took first place in 2012, is the character of Sano City in Tochigi Prefecture. This area is famous for ramen because the water is pure and clean, making the broth taste good. Sanomaru is a samurai character who wears a ramen bowl from Sano as a hat and holds a French fry sword.

Sanomaru, the character of Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture. (Photo by Yurubus official website)

These regional characters often act as key contributors to tourism income and also provide encouragement to people. When a major earthquake struck Kumamoto in 2016, Kumamon personally visited evacuation centers to comfort children.

The economic impact is also enormous. In Kumamon’s case, related sales reach 170 billion yen (about 1.58 trillion KRW) annually. As of December 2021, the official account had 800,000 followers, a number comparable to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s 930,000 followers.

Once a regional character becomes popular, there are countless ways to utilize it. In Kumamoto, strawberries did not sell well compared to other famous strawberry-producing areas, but after changing the packaging film to include Kumamon and branding them as 'Kumamon’s strawberries,' sales began nationwide. Because of this, nationwide efforts are underway to create regional characters with the motto 'Only one success is needed.' According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the number of regional characters in 2021 was 1,553, nearly double the 714 in 2011, ten years earlier.

Recently, Korea has also been making various attempts to revitalize local areas. Having a character loved by local residents to the extent that they willingly donate money for statue construction seems to be a great strength. The activities of Yurukyara, which protect people’s innocence while contributing to the local economy, are attracting more attention.