TOKYO: Hundreds of cuddly mascots were facing the chop Thursday after Japan's finance ministry ordered local authorities nationwide to cut back in their use, saying many of them are a waste of public money.
Mandarins investigated 105 tax-funded organisations that had created their own yuru-kyara, and discovered "most of them had no clear purpose", a finance ministry report said.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!