Kumamon

Kumamon (くまモン) is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign called to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, and in late 2011, was voted top in a nationwide survey of mascots, collectively known as yuru-chara, garnering over 280,000 votes.  Following his success in the contest, Kumamoto earned ¥11.8 billion (US$120 million, GB£79 million, €93 million) in merchandising revenue for the first half of 2012, after having only earned ¥2.5 billion (US$26 million, GB£17 million, €20 million) throughout all of 2011. Kumamon enjoys tremendous popularity throughout the world. This mascot has a minor cameo in the 2014 video game Yo-Kai Watch 2, and made an appearance in Yo-kai Watch: The Movie following Whisper, Nate, and Jibanyan.

In just two years, Kumamon has generated US$1.2 billion in economic benefits for his region, including tourism and product sales, as well as US$90 million worth of publicity, according to a recent Bank of Japan study.Sales of Kumamon items have reached ¥29.3 billion in 2012, up from ¥2.5 billion in 2011.

The Bank of Japan also estimated that Kumamon generated ¥123.2 billion in revenue during a two-year period starting from 2011.

A large part of Kumamon's success can be attributed to its cuteness. The unusual marketing strategy of free licensing is also behind Kumamon's commercial success, since the Kumamoto prefecture grants usage rights for free to anyone as long as their products promote goods and services from the prefecture.

Since Kumamon is a cute character, memes around Kumamon depict him often with a text, suggesting he is actually evil and/or worshipping Satan. One line often used (or variations of it) is: "Why? For the Glory of Satan of course"; this changes the initial theme of the picture (Kumamon holding a cat, Kumamon at a bonfire, etc.). He also stars in memes about anxiety and depression.

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