When I first read those headlines I thought "okay, that's not that funny", but it's actually true. Hello Kitty is the official tourism ambassador of Japan. Check out this article to find out why in the hell Japan would actually do that and why it's a sweet idea:
Go to 236 dotcom. sorry I can't post the actual URL but it's on the frontpage.
Go to 236 dotcom. sorry I can't post the actual URL but it's on the frontpage.