This is the heart of “yuru-chara,” the championing of mascots as part of everyday life. Japanese artist Jun Miura is widely credited with coining the term in 2009, outlining three fundamental ...

In 2010 we were gifted the inaugural Yuru-chara Grand Prix—an annual contest where it’s up to the public to decide which mascot is the best in the land.

Now, you can show off your yuru-chara pride by voting for your favourite mascot in the 2020 Yuru-Chara Grand Prix, an annual event that ranks mascots throughout Japan.

Japan’s yuru-chara (literally soft character) craze has been going strong for over a decade. The country’s thousands of cute, quirky mascots represent prefectures, towns, local attractions, and more.

More than 800 plush characters faced off for the title of Most Popular Mascot in Japan's third annual Yuru-kyara Grand Prix. Think: Miss America, but with bear-like creatures and inflatable sumo ...

KUWANA, Mie -- Narita city's "Unari-kun," a regional character mascot that's part plane, part eel, was announced as the winner of the "Yuru Chara Grand Prix 2017" at Nagashima Resort here on Nov. 19.

Shinjokun, the yuru-chara of Kochi prefecture’s Susaki city, for example, used to attend 150 promotional events every year. Since the pandemic, however, all of his gigs got cancelled.