Sales of Kumamon mascot goods hit record 158 billion yen in 2019 english.kyodonews.net

KYODO NEWS - 3 hours ago - 15:31 | All, JapanProducts bearing the image of "Kumamon," the black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, racked up sales of at least 157.9 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in 2019, the local government said Friday.
Sales have hit fresh record highs every year since 2011 when the prefectural government began conducting the survey.
I hope people will continue to support the mascot," Kumamoto Gov.
Japanese businesses can produce and sell products featuring the much-loved mascot free of charge upon receiving approval from the prefectural government.
In 2018, it began allowing overseas businesses also to produce and sell products using Kumamon due to the mascot's growing popularity in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other parts of Asia in recent years.