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Controversial Mascot Character Chiitan Asked to Stop Performing Due to Similarity to City's Official Mascot
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The city of Susaki in Kochi filed a temporary injunction on February 16 against the controversial mascot character Chiitan due to its similarity to the city's official mascot Shinjō-kun. During this period, Chiitan's owners will not be able to use the mascot's image or wear its costume in public.
The city claims that Chiitan's activities constitute a Copyright infringement against Shinjō-kun. The mascots share the same designers. Chiitan, who is based on a real-world female pet otter of the same name, initially gained popularity on social media acting unofficially as the city's tourism ambassador. However, Susaki received complaints about the apparently reckless and dangerous nature of some of the stunts in Chiitan's videos and subsequently revoked the real otter's status as a tourism ambassador.
Due to concerns that Chiitan's activities would negatively affect Shinjō-kun's image, Susaki wrote a letter asking that Chiitan halt activities on February 7. However, Chiitan continued to appear at martial arts events and performed other activities that the city deemed too extreme. Susaki filed the temporary injunction on February 16, and announced the action publicly on February 22.
The Yōkai Chiitan TV anime announced on February 15 that the series has been delayed from its April 3 premiere.
The Asian small-clawed otter "fairy baby" character first debuted on December 15, 2017. The "eternally 0-year-old" character has no gender, and they wear the turtle character Kame-chan on their head.
Source: Asahi Shimbun
