Japan’s foreign minister has appointed Pokemon’s Pikachu and the famed cartoon cat Hello Kitty as cultural ambassadors in a bid to bring the 2025 World Expo to the country.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono announced the new ambassadors in a Tweet, attaching a photo showing him handing the characters letters of appointment on Tuesday.
The country is hoping that the port city of Osaka will be chosen as the host for the 2025 World Exposition.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono announced that Pokemon’s Pikachu (pictured with Kono on Tuesday) and the famed cartoon cat Hello Kitty would be appointed ambassadors to promote the city of Osaka.
This isn’t the first time Hello Kitty (pictured on Tuesday with Kono) has been named an ambassador – the feline was declared the Japanese Ambassador for Tourism in China and Hong Kong in 2008
The characters will be used for pamphlets and gifts to promote the city’s bid as it competes against Saclay in the suburbs of Paris, the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg and the Azerbaijan capital Baku.
‘I would like for you to represent Japan and proactively (promote) the attraction of Osaka inside and outside of the country,’ Kono told the characters.
The World Expo takes place every five years and focuses on raising awareness and building solutions to global challenges, according to the Bureau International des Expositions, which regulates the events.
In November 2018, the host of the 2025 expo will be announced between the four contenders.
Japan is hoping that the port city of Osaka (pictured) will be chosen as the host for the 2025 World Exposition
The decision will come at the 164th General Assembly after all of BIE’s 170 member states will vote.
Soccer star Keisuke Honda and 2012 Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka will also be named as special ambassadors, according to the Japan Times.
Osaka last held the event in 1970, and in 2005, Japan’s Aichi Prefecture was the host. The 2020 expo will be held in Dubai.
Dubai’s expo will launch on October 20, 2020, and go through April 10, 2021.
This isn’t the first time Hello Kitty has been named an ambassador – the feline was declared the Japanese Ambassador for Tourism in China and Hong Kong in 2008.