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takyon writes:

A Rogue Mascot Causes Headaches for a Japanese City

Last year, the southern Japanese city of Susaki created a position — honorary tourism ambassador — for a real-life otter with a large social media following. So far, so cute. Then Chiitan, an unsanctioned mascot based on the otter, began staging dangerous and non-child-friendly stunts around town, like swinging a weed whacker and tipping over a car. And some residents began confusing Chiitan with the city's official mascot, Shinjokun, who is also modeled on an otter but is considerably more risk-averse.

Chiitan's darkest moment may be a video titled "Chiitan going to visit your house," in which the mascot silently removes a baseball bat from a locker, slips it into its costume and walks off camera.

After receiving more than 100 calls from around Japan about Chiitan's behavior, the city declined last week to renew the real otter's honorary tourism ambassador contract. But posts about Chiitan being "fired" (the mascot and the real otter have the same name) have since gone viral on social media, incorrectly implying that the city had officially sanctioned the rogue mascot's cheeky antics.

Susaki's public relations dilemma highlights a trend that may be unique to Japan: As more municipalities sponsor official mascots, unsanctioned spinoffs are proliferating — with mixed results. "I suppose it illustrates how the world of mascots is constantly evolving in fun and unpredictable ways," said Chris Carlier, a British writer in Tokyo who runs the website and Twitter feed Mondo Mascots.

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