Japanese celebrate the silly, eccentric and adorable like no other country.  Its obsession with the yuru-kyara mascots is a perfect example of this.  These mascots represent products, teams, museums, schools, prisons, branches of the military, organizations  and even the national tax office.   Most towns, counties, and companies have their own yuru-kyara mascot, following this craze. Creepy or cute, they lurk around street fairs, community events, train stations and tourist destinations.  There are large Mascot Summits such as the one in Hanyu, Saitama held every year where mascots campaign and are voted on.  Mascots normally represent local culture or products. They may be created by local government or other organizations to stimulate tourism and economic development, or created by a company to build on their corporate identity. They may appear as costumed lovable characters at promotional events and festivals meant to convey affection for one's hometown or region.
{}