Society

Names of 2020 Tokyo Games mascots unveiled

Jul 23 (NHK) - The organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has unveiled the names of the mascots for the Games.

At an event in Tokyo on Sunday, the committee announced that the name of the Olympic mascot is "Miraitowa" and that of the Paralympic character is "Someity."

Miraitowa derives from the Japanese words "mirai" and "towa," meaning future and forever respectively. It expresses a wish that a beautiful future will continue forever.

Someity comes from the "someiyoshino" variety of cherry tree and the English expression "so mighty." It represents the greatness of Paralympians and the Japanese people's admiration for cherry blossoms.

The committee picked the names from a shortlist of 30 candidate titles proposed by a naming company for each mascot. It also screened them for trademark issues.

Both mascots sport a checkered pattern, which is also a feature on the Games' official emblems. They were selected in February in a vote by school children.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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