25 years after the Suica Penguin helped revolutionize how Japan buys train ticket and shops, JR’s plans for the future don’t include the character.
Back in 2001, East Japan Railway Company/JR East revolutionized train travel in Japan when they launched the Suica system. Instead of having to hunt for your destination on a map posted on the wall in order to determine the fare, feed coins into a ticket machine, and fiddle around with a paper ticket, you simply tapped your pre-paid Suica card on a terminal mounted at the side of the ticket gate at the first and last station of your journey, and the automated cashless payment system deducted the necessary funds.
It’s an extremely useful system, and in the years since, Suica has grown to become one of Japan’s most frequently used cashless payment systems, accepted not only for train tickets but for purchases in retail shops and at vending machines, restaurants, and a long list of other facilities. Still, when Suica was first being introduced, JR East knew some people would be reluctant to use it, especially with how prevalent the use of cash was (and in many ways still is) in Japanese society. So to help make this new technology less intimidating, JR East also introduced a mascot for the Suica System, the Suica Penguin.
Japan wasn’t quite as filled with mascot characters in those days as it is now, but the Suica Penguin (who has no name other than that) was an instant hit. He appeared not only on the cards themselves, but also in advertisements and explanatory signage, and the underlying message, that the Suica system was so easy to use that even a penguin could manage it, got quietly communicated while people were oohing and aahing over how adorable the critter was.
In the two and a half decades since the character’s debut, the Suica Penguin has appeared on countless pieces of merchandise, been the motif for all sorts of snacks and sweets, and even now has its own chain of specialty shops, called Pensta, inside select JR East stations. So it came as a shock on Tuesday when JR East said that they’ll be retiring the Suica Penguin and replacing him with a new character.
“We appreciate the kind, warm treatment everyone has given the Suica Penguin, but on the occasion of the 25th anniversary, the character will be graduating and passing the baton [to a new mascot],” said JR East president Yoichi Kise at a press conference, borrowing the language of the idol/entertainment industry in Japan in which performers are said to be “graduating” when leaving or aging out of their current show business gig without another lined up. Despite the sugarcoated jargon, fans of the Suica Penguin were heartbroken to hear the news, posting reactions online such as:
“The Suica Penguin is going to disappear…this is so sad…”
“Is the Suica Penguin statue [near JR East headquarters] in Shinjuku going to get torn down like the statues of Lenin [during the fall of the Soviet Union]?”
“This is a total shock. Everything about the Suica Penguin is awesome.”
“Shocked. The first Christmas cake my husband and I ever shared was a Suica Penguin cake…Thank you for all the memories…”
“I hope they keep Pensta [the Suica Penguin merch shop] open even after they stop using the character as a mascot.”
“This is more than I can bear. I have an original painting of the Suica Penguin from the creator Chiharu Sakazaki, and it’s our family’s treasure.”
▼ Yes, there have been Suica Peguin cakes, and also Suica Penguin bread.
Then there was this Suica Penguin fan who was in no mood to mince words whatsoever.
“JR East is just using the word ‘graduate’ because it suits their purposes and makes them look nice. What they’re doing is just laying off the Suica Penguin, isn’t it? Suica is great because of the Suica Penguin. I mean, why do they think they need to change the character anyway? I hope they end up doing like Don Quijote did and cancel their plan to change the mascot. I think the Suica Penguin is a source of emotional comfort for a lot of people. The character is such a huge presence.”
The Suica Penguin’s creator, artist Chiharu Sakazaki, took a more positive, even-keeled approach in her statements, which were included in JR East’s press release regarding the mascot changeover.
“I remember feeling so happy and honored when my work was chosen as the Suica mascot character in 2001. The character appeared on posters and in commercials, becoming loved by so many people that JR even created the Pensta shops.”
“I am very happy to have been able to spend the last 25 years together with the Suica Penguin. I’ll be doing my very best for this final year. To everyone who has supported the character for so long, thank you very much.”
As for why JR East wants to push the Suica Penguin out of the spotlight, next year in the fall changes to the Mobile Suica app will allow, via a user code, purchases up to 300,000 yen (US$2,000), far beyond the current limit of 20,000 yen, and JR East is also looking into the possibility of allowing users to transfer funds directly from their bank accounts into their Suica accounts. This has the potential to greatly expand the scope and scale of Suica purchases that can be made, and JR East wants a new mascot to mark what it hopes will be the start of a new era for the system.
None of that is doing anything to soothe the sadness of the Suica Penguin’s many fans, however. As alluded to by the particularly irate commenter, a few years ago discount retailer Don Quijote insinuated that it would be getting rid of its mascot character, Donpen, but following the swift gale-force blowback from fans, the character is still prominently featured in Don Quijote’s advertisements and on its signage, even if he’s not on their store-brand item packaging.
▼ Coincidentally, Donpen is also a penguin.
Taking into account that the Suica Penguin’s resume already includes experience helping normalize changes in how people spend money in Japan, it really does seem kind of short-sighted, or at least short-memory, of JR East to think the character wouldn’t be up to the task of promoting an expansion of the system with which he shares his name. Especially considering how recently we just saw another Japanese company regretting not taking better care of its legacy-level creations, maybe JR wants to reconsider the whole “baton touch” thing, which is currently planned to take place sometime in 2026.
Source: JR East, Jiji via Yahoo! Japan News via Jin, Twitter
Top image: JR East
Insert images: JR East, SoraNews24
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