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Gundam Designer's New Police Mascot Resembles Iron Leaguer Characters
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Tokyo police revealed the new mascot character Stoppo-kun on Monday. Kunio Ōkawara designed the character that will aid police efforts to eliminate special fraud.
The character's name combines the English words "stop" and "police." Okawara said at the event that he wanted to design a character that people could have affection for but can fight fraud at the same time.
The character will be used at events in Japan to teach people to identify and counter special fraud tactics through activities such as plays and quizzes. The term "special fraud" refers to various types of fraud such as identity theft, false billing, loan deposit fraud, and refund fraud.
After the character's announcement, Internet s noticed that the design resembles characters from the Gundam designs, Okawara also provided mechanical designs for Iron Leaguer. However, he did not officially announce that he utilized his designs from the anime to create Stoppo-kun.
Police departments around Japan have used anime-style mascots to fight crime. Tokyo police also recently prevent traffic accidents.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun via Hachima Kikō
