Notorious Japanese Prison Rebrands Itself with Cuddly Anime Mascot

Today in Things We Learned on “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!,” we bring you an unusual take on reputation management.

Officials at Asahikwa—a Japanese prison notorious for whippings, stabbings and other things you can see every week on Game of Thrones— decided to fight the public’s dim view of their institution by adopting a six-foot anime-style mascot.

“Katakkuri-chan”, who can appear in both male and female form, made his/her/its debut at a recent fair where curious consumers could buy trinkets made by inmates.

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