Mecha designer, Kunio Okawara, made a name for himself designing anime robots. His most famous work of course, are the RX-78-2 Gundam and Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam. Now however, he’s designing for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. He designed their new anti-special fraud mascot, Stoppo-kun. The police aim to stop special fraud with this new Okawara-designed mascot character.
Stoppo-kun’s name combines “Stop” and “police”. During his unveiling event, Okawara said that he wanted the mascot to be lovable, but also help stop fraud at the same time. The police will then bring Stoppo-kun all over the country for special events and activities.
In these special activities, the mascot will show people how to identify and counter special fraud tactics. These tactics include a variety of crimes, such as identity theft, false billing, loan deposit fraud, and refund fraud. The activities he will be giving to help spread information will include plays and quizzes.
Japan has always loved mascots, with these lovable characters even helping tourism for various prefectures. The police is also doing the same thing in promoting their cause. And yes, having a legend like Kunio Okawara design it helps a lot!
Source: Asahi Shimbun
