I guess appointing Doraemon as Japan’s “anime ambassador” has worked out well enough that the country has decided to assign yet another fictional character to help attract new visitors. Hello Kitty was recently named Japan’s tourism ambassador to China. It seems that the character’s popularity in Hong Kong has hit an all-time high and Japan’s tourism ministry his hoping Ms. Kitty will be able to tap into that popularity. There’s no word yet on what precisely her duties as tourism ambassador will be, though I’m sure Keroppi is hoping for some sort of assistant position. I suppose at this rate we can expect Lupin to be named a UN ambassador soon.

Hello Kitty Named Japan’s Tourism Ambassador (via The Associated Press)

By Stewart Smith