Congrats on winning! “Shinjo-kun” from Susaki in Kochi prefecture is at the pinnacle of mascot characters (Yahoo! news)

2016-11-08

“Shinjo-kun” is finally at the top of the nation

On Sunday, November 6, at the “Mascot Character Grand Prix 2016 in Egao Ehime” award ceremony held at Shiroyama Park in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, the local character Shinjo-kun from Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture, shined majestically in 1st place.
The Grand Prix, which started in 2010 as a tournament to decide Japan's best mascot characters from local governments and companies around the country, has produced many national stars such as Kumamon (Kumamoto Prefecture), Barry (Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture), and Sanomaru (Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture) so far.

Regrettably, Shinjo-kun was in 3rd place in the advance internet voting, but the final vote was completely reversed by the 2-day venue visitors, probably because of the actual event held in his hometown, Shikoku. It showed off the strength of local characters rooted in the community.

Very popular at Japan Expo Paris 2016

Shinjo also participated in the Japan Expo held in Paris, France in July this year as a representative of many local characters from all over the country. Many Japanese fans who visited the venue asked to take pictures one after another, and they also had a spectacular guitar play that was unimaginable from their adorable appearance (live performance of Daft Punk “Robot Rock”!) They showed great success, such as showing off and invigorating the venue.
Its popularity is now spreading to a global scale.

Initiatives Aimed at Revitalizing Local Communities

Japan Promotion supports PR activities of local governments by local characters, starting with Shinjo from Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture, and regional development and regional revitalization efforts through traditional crafts and culture.
Amid the global boom in Japan and growing momentum to attract inbound traffic, we aim to contribute to prosperous urban development by cooperating with various local governments and related organizations to disseminate the appeal unique to that region to overseas markets.

Yahoo! News (2016/11/6) Some excerpts

[“Shinjo-kun” from Susaki-shi, Kochi Prefecture won the “Mascot Character Grand Prix 2016” in reverse]
The award ceremony for the “Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 in Egao Ehime”, which determines the number one mascot character in Japan for local governments and companies, was held on the 6th at Shiroyama Park in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, and the character “Shinjou-kun” from Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture shined in 1st place. ...

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