This wont come as a shock to most of the adoring kitty loving fans. But it does to me. I mean whats wrong with all those pretty Japanese girls that we get to see next to their electronics all the time. They would look so much better welcoming us to their country. As you may already have made out, I simply dont share the Kitty fascination that most females do.

Hello Kitty has been named as the tourist ambassador for China and Hong Kong especially since the females of these nations are head over heels in love with Hello Kitty. Last year the number of foreign tourists traveling to Japan hit a record high of 8.35 million, up 60 percent since the government began the marketing effort in 2003.

Arrivals from China and Hong Kong, who accounted for 16.5 percent of visitors to Japan last year, are poised this year to become the second-largest group of tourists after South Koreans. Officials hope tapping into that fan base will lead to a bigger flow of tourists into Japan and push the country closer to the goal of attracting 10 million overseas visitors every year

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