Yuchan (ユウちゃん) and Aichan (アイちゃん) were mascots for Japan Post Bank (株式会社ゆうちょ銀行), specifically for Japan's postal savings (savings deposited at post offices prior to 2007). Yuchan was originally created in a public contest for the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1962, which would later become Japan Post. In 1990, Sanrio was commissioned to redesign the character. Other additions by Sanrio includes Aichan, his sister, as well as their family. Aichan was named in a public contest.
Yuchan and Aichan are anthropomorphic squirrels. Yuchan wears a blue baseball hat, blue shirt, green shorts, and blue shoes. Aichan wears a pink bow, a pink dress with white polka dots, and pink shoes. Yuchan's muzzle and underbelly fur has a more yellow tint, while Aichan's is tinted pink.
Some sources report that the mascots were retired after the privatization of the Japan Post in 2007. The characters continued to appear on the Japan Post Bank's website until 2015.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Aichan Yuchan (3).jpg (321 KB)")
.jpg "Postal Savings Characters (2).jpg (1.24 MB)")
.jpg "Yuchan Aichan (2).jpg (218 KB)")
.jpg "Yuchan Aichan Stationary (4).jpg (190 KB)")
Trivia[]
- A squirrel was chosen as the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications mascot because squirrels have a habit of collecting and storing nuts, which, when left uneaten, germinate and benefit in the growth of forests. This is similar to the role of postal savings, which is to return benefits to society through savings, fiscal investment, and loans.
- In 2016, a character named "Yu-chan", played by the actor Masahiro Motoki, appeared in Japan Post Bank advertisements. However, this character is a human, and has no relation to Yuchan the squirrel.
Sources[]
- ユウちゃん (Wikipedia, Japanese)
- New standard postage stamps "Postal Mascot Character" (Japan Post Bank)