Every government has its characters. Some cuter than others.

Of course it remains to be seen what city will be selected to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the Japanese Olympic Committee however is so serious about its bid that it has enlisted the support of famous anime characters Astro Boy and Pikachu, who have been making appearances at events and fairs promoting the city’s bid for the games.

The Japanese Olympic Committee is not unique in its use of cute characters to promote government sponsored activities, Tokyo’s Suginami Ward (home to the Suginami Animation Museum) has announced that its beloved, and citizen elected, mascot Namisuke, is taking a future forward step to become a deco-mail character, the cute animated figures that are fashionably added to mobile phone e-mails and can be downloaded through subscription-based services.

Until now, Namisuke has been called upon mostly to help people remember to sort their recycling and take their children in for vaccinations.

Editor’s Note: Below is a picture of Yuuchan, a character for the subway system of the city of Kobe in Western Japan. He’s just one of many characters that Kobe uses to reassure us that, yes, they’re hard at work creating new characters for us.