Japan railway names third cat stationmaster

TOKYO - A calico cat named Yontama was appointed on Jan 7 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.

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.

Ms Chisako Asano, a 52-year-old housewife from Osaka Prefecture’s Fujiidera who has been a fan since Tama’s time, said, “I hope the cat stationmasters will continue to watch over Kishigawa Line.” KYODO NEWS