Army Mascots?!

If you dont know, Japanese people love mascots. They love cute little characters. Everything here has a dumb little chacter similar to Pokemon. They are really annoying. This country does not appear to be too mature.

Today i read that the Japanese Self Defense Force has their own cartoon mascot. This mascot is aimed to improve their image in Iraq.

In the title of this blog, there is a link to their national news article about it. In it appears the following quote from a critic of the mascot. "This could only happen in a country that is so open to immaturity," said Rika Kayama, a psychiatrist and author. "Authorities here feel it's easier and less threatening to use characters to get the public to accept them, rather than explain the facts."

The WORST quote / statement was as follows; ""Everybody loved it," said Aki Tsuda of the Foreign Ministry's aid department.
Some have even suggested that Captain Majed was the reason the Japanese trucks weren't attacked during the2 1/2-year mission there."

WHAT! Iraqis didnt shoot the Japanese trucks because they thought they were cute?! I cant imagine some guy with a gun and a turban getting angry at the West, then seeing a stupid mascot and putting down his weapon to rush out and buy a plush stuffed animal mascot becuase he was so moved by the cuteness of the drawing. Give me a break! I think a military is there to fight, and at the end of the day....kill. Not have cute mascots plastered on their trucks.