Japan has unveiled the names of its mascots² for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

日本近日揭晓了2020年东京奥运会和残奥会吉祥物的名字。
 

 

Blue and white checked character "Miraitowa"(pronounced miray-towa)-- combining the two Japanese words of "Mirai"(future) and "towa" (eternity) -- will appear at the Olympic Games.

 

The Paralympics' pink and white "Someity"(pronounced soh-may-tee) is named after the cherry blossom variety "Someiyoshino," with Games organizers saying the name echoes "so mighty³" in English.

 

Tokyo 2020 released a shortlist of mascot¹ pairs in December last year and asked schoolchildren in Japan and Japanese schools outside the country to vote for their favorites. More than 16,700 schools participated.

 

The voting process was part of the country's nationwide education program called "Yoi Don!" which means "Get Set!". The program aims to teach children the values of the Games and allow them to get involved in initiatives linked to Tokyo 2020.

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