Hello Kitty is named Japan tourism ambassador

      Japan's ubiquitous ambassador of cute Hello Kitty has built up an impressive resume over the years. Global marketing phenom. Fashion diva. Pop culture icon. Now the moonfaced feline can add "government envoy" to the list.

      The tourism ministry on Monday named Hello Kitty as its choice to represent the country in China mainland and Hong Kong, two places where she is wildly popular among kids and young women.

      Officials hope that tapping into that fan base will lead to a bigger flow of tourists into Japan, and closer toward their goal of attracting 10 million overseas visitors every year under the "Visit Japan" campaign.

      Last year the number of foreign tourists traveling to Japan hit a record high of 8.35 million, up 60 percent since the government began the marketing effort in 2003.

      Arrivals from China mainland and Hong Kong, who accounted for 16.5 percent of visitors to Japan last year, are poised this year to become the second-largest group of tourists after South Koreans.

      At a press conference, Sanrio Co. President Shintaro Tsuji called Hello Kitty's new appointment "an honor" and pledged to "work hard to attract many visitors."

      Japan's other goodwill tourism ambassadors include Korean singer Younha, Japanese actress Yoshino Kimura and Japanese pop/rock duo Puffy AmiYumi.

      Although this is the first time the tourism ministry has tapped a fictional character for the role, the foreign ministry in March inaugurated blue robo-cat Doraemon as Japan's "anime ambassador."

      Designed in 1974 by Sanrio, Hello Kitty first appeared on a plastic coin purse. Her image today has become one of the most powerful brands in the world, adorning some 50,000 products in 60 countries.

      According to her official profile from Sanrio, Hello Kitty lives with her family in London. It does not mention how often she visits Japan.

      日本广为人知的可爱卡通形象Hello Kitty多年来以各种角色给人们留下了深刻的印象，如“全球营销人才”、“时尚达人”及“流行文化代表”等。如今，这只圆脸猫咪又多了一个“政府使节”的新角色。

      日本旅游省于本周一任命Hello Kitty为日本在中国大陆和香港地区的形象大使，Kitty猫在这两地的青少年和年轻女性中很受欢迎。

      政府官员希望通过此举吸引更多人去日本旅游，以达到“游览日本计划”所制定的每年吸引一千万外国游客赴日旅游的目标。

      去年，赴日旅游的外国游客数量创历史新高，达到835万，比2003年日本政府刚推出旅游宣传计划时增加了60%。

      在去年赴日旅游的游客中，中国大陆和香港地区的游客占16.5%，预计今年它们能成为仅次于韩国的第二大客源地。

      三丽欧公司总裁信太郎在一个新闻发布会上说，Hello Kitty被赋予的新使命是她的一个“荣誉”，并表示会“努力吸引更多游客来日本旅游”。

      日本其他几位“旅游亲善大使”包括韩国歌手尹河、日本女演员木村佳乃和日本流行摇滚组合帕菲亚美由美。

      这是日本旅游省首次启用一个虚拟形象担任旅游形象大使，不过，日本外务省在三月份刚刚任命机器猫“哆啦A梦”为日本的“动漫大使”。

      Hello Kitty卡通形象是三丽欧公司于1974年设计的，它的首次亮相是在一个塑料零钱包上。如今，Hello Kitty已成为全世界最具影响力的品牌之一，被用于60个国家约5万多种产品的装饰。

      据三丽欧公司提供的官方资料，目前Hello Kitty和她的家族居住在伦敦。但其中没提到她多久去一次日本。