Beloved cat stationmaster in Japan dies

WAKAYAMA – Nitama, who served as the second cat stationmaster at Kishi Station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, passed away on Nov 20, Wakayama Electric Railway announced Nov 21.

Her appetite had declined since late October, and she had been resting from her stationmaster duties since Nov 4, the company said.

The firm will hold a company funeral at the station at 12.30pm local time on Dec 13.

Nitama was a female cat aged 15, equivalent to about 75 in human years.

Named Nitama, or Tama II, she served as a subordinate to the

first cat stationmaster

, the calico cat Tama.

After Tama passed away in June 2015, Nitama became the second stationmaster of Kishi Station on the Kishigawa Line.

Her adorable appearance helped promote the railway company and contributed to an increase in overseas tourists. She was later “promoted” to roles such as “deputy president”.

Nitama’s predecessor, tortoiseshell-coloured Tama, was credited with saving the provincial Kishigawa Line after being appointed as master of the tiny Kishi station.

With the regional railway losing money, the station lost its last human employee in April 2006, passing on the mantle to Tama, who delighted in strolling around her own office wearing the formal uniform cap of Wakayama Electric Railway.

She proved a hit with visitors and word soon spread about the unusual animal arrangement, sparking a rush of media attention that brought fame - and some fortune - to the out-of-the-way place.

One study found that in 2007 alone, Tama’s presence had boosted the number of people travelling on the Kishigawa Line by 55,000, injecting 1.1 billion yen (S$9.2 million) to the local economy. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK