Japan Railway Names Third Cat Stationmaster

WAKAYAMA, Jan 7 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- A calico cat named Yontama was appointed Wednesday the third feline stationmaster of a local Japanese railway station, continuing an almost two-decade tradition that has boosted tourism and helped rescue the line from financial difficulties while sparking similar moves by other rail operators, Kyodo News reported.

During a ceremony at Kishi Station on Wakayama Electric Railway Co.'s Kishigawa Line, the railway company also introduced its latest feline apprentice recruit, Rokutama.

New stationmaster Yontama's predecessor, Nitama, also a calico cat, died in November last year and has been named honourary stationmaster.

The Kishigawa Line drew nationwide attention after it named a cat, Tama, its first feline stationmaster in 2007, successfully attracting tourists from home and abroad to stay financially afloat.

This sparked a trend of other struggling local railways appointing cats, dogs, rabbits and other animals as stationmasters across Japan.

In front of the station building in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama Electric Railway President Mitsunobu Kojima placed a medal engraved with Yontama's stationmaster title around the cat's neck, drawing applause from the crowd.

Chisako Asano, a 52-year-old housewife from Osaka Prefecture's Fujiidera who has been a fan since Tama's time, hope the cat stationmasters will continue to watch over Kishigawa Line.

After the ceremony, Kojima told reporters he hopes Yontama will "lead the way as stationmaster at a time when local railways are at a turning point of major changes."

-- BERNAMA-KYODO