Japan court again orders Susaki City to pay damages over Chiitan☆ mascot dispute

The Intellectual Property High Court on Oct 7 ordered Susaki City in Kochi Prefecture to pay damages to the company operating the mascot character Chiitan☆, upholding the first-instance Tokyo District Court finding that the city had obstructed the character's business and increasing the amount. The court raised the damages from about 7.86 million yen in the first instance to about 18.87 million yen, according to Mainichi Shimbun and Yahoo! News Japan; Nishi-Nippon Shimbun described the increase as from about 7.8 million yen to about 18.8 million yen, Asahi Shimbun as an increase of about 11 million yen to about 18.8 million yen, and TBS NEWS DIG as exceeding 18.87 million yen. Nishi-Nippon Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun said the panel was presided over by Judge Mori Tomiyoshi. Mainichi reported the court dismissed the city's appeal. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]

Shinjō-kun, an otter-themed mascot modeled on the Japanese river otter, has been used by the city in public relations since around 2002 and won the Yuru-chara Grand Prix in 2016, Mainichi and Nishi-Nippon reported. Chiitan☆ was created after an Asian small-clawed otter kept by the operating company appeared with Shinjō-kun on a television program in 2017, and videos posted on social media drew attention, Mainichi said. Nishi-Nippon and Asahi reported that Chiitan☆ was designed by the same designer as Shinjō-kun, and Nishi-Nippon and Asahi identified the operator as the talent agency Cleverlats of Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]

The two characters initially appeared together at events, but the relationship worsened after the city took issue with extreme content in Chiitan☆ videos, such as one swinging a weed trimmer, Nishi-Nippon and Asahi reported. In 2019 the city removed the model otter from its post as tourism ambassador and stated that Chiitan☆ was an unauthorized production infringing copyright, Asahi said. Mainichi reported that the city held a press conference alleging copyright infringement and that bookings for Chiitan☆, including a television commercial, were cancelled one after another. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]

Cleverlats sued for obstruction of business, seeking about 43 million yen, Nishi-Nippon reported, while the city filed its own suit seeking an injunction on the character's use and damages, according to Mainichi. The Tokyo District Court ruled in February 2025 that the city had implicitly permitted the use, noting it had sent an email saying permission was not necessary, and ordered damages of about 4 million yen for the cancelled commercial and 2 million yen for reputational damage, Mainichi reported. The city appealed after the court rejected its injunction claim, Mainichi said. [ 2 , 4 ]

In the appeal, the high court noted that the city knew the Chiitan☆ costume would resemble Shinjō-kun but did not seek to stop its use for more than a year, and said it could not find that the character's increasingly extreme videos harmed the city, Asahi reported. It judged the city's statement that the character infringed copyright to be an act of unfair competition that damaged business credibility with false information, and recognized lost business opportunities more broadly than the first instance, according to Asahi. [ 6 ]

The city said: “Unfortunately, the city's arguments were not accepted. After receiving the judgment, we will examine its content and consider how to respond,” according to Asahi. NHK reported that a second-instance court, which it described as the Tokyo High Court, ordered the city to pay damages, while other outlets named the Intellectual Property High Court. [ 5 , 6 ]