The Japan Pet Food Association established February 22 as Cat Day in Japan in 1987, because the pronunciation of February 22 in Japanese sounds similar to the Japanese onomatopoeia word "nyan nyan nyan," the sound that a cat makes.
Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro
To celebrate the unofficial Cat Day, the website hosted a poll surveying readers about their favorite cat character, and the Catbus character from My Neighbor Totoro placed first in the poll.
Sanrio's Hello Kitty
Doraemon
Jill form Kiki's Delivery Service
Sanrio's Hello Kitty character, Doraemon's titular character, and Kiki's Delivery Service's Jiji all tied for second place in the poll.
Toro from Sony Computer Entertainment
Tama from Tama and Friends
Sony Computer Entertainment's mascot character Toro placed sixth in the poll, and Tama from Tama and Friends placed ninth.
Nameneko
Placing fifth in the survey was "Nameneko," a craze that took off in Japan in the 1980s of dressing cats up in doll clothes and taking their pictures.
・ クールジャパンサイト Tenkai-japan.com
ジョハリの窓 (日本語） (313)
Tenkai Japan
