TOKYO (CNN) — Japan has unveiled the names of its mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Blue and white checked character “Miraitowa” combining the two Japanese words of “mirai” (future) and “towa” (eternity) — will appear at the Olympic games.
The Paralympics’ pink and white “Someity” is named after the cherry blossom variety “someiyoshino” with games organizers saying the name echoes “so mighty” in English.
Tokyo 2020 released a shortlist of mascot pairs in December last year and asked schoolchildren in Japan and Japanese schools outside the country to vote for their favorites.
More than 16,700 schools participated.
The voting process was part of the country’s nationwide education program, and aims to teach children the values of the games and allows them to get involved in initiatives linked to Tokyo 2020.
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