Tama (cat)

Tama (Japaneseたま, born 29 April 1999 in Kinokawa ) is a cat who lives at the station Kishi of Kinokawa in the Japanese prefecture of Wakayama. National notoriety she gained when the local railway company officially to " Station Head " appointed. Due to further promotions they reached in 2013 as " Deputy President " the second- highest post of the railway company.

Appointment as " Station Head "

The Tortoiseshell Cat mother was a vagrant who had been brought from a cleaning force to the train station. Tama was regularly fed by the residents in the immediate vicinity of the railway station grocer Toshiko Koyama and remained there. The Kishi station is the terminus of the 14.3 km long Kishigawa line, which starts from the north-west from Wakayama Station. It is the only route that (English: Wakayama Electric Railway ) from the Wakayama Dentetsu is operated.

Due to financial losses pulled Wakayama Dentetsu from April 2006 to its entire staff from the stations from. The Kishigawa line made ​​at this time an annual loss of 4.9 million U.S. dollars (about 4 million euros ), and the passenger numbers fell to 5,000 per day or 1.9 million a year. To reduce costs, we recruited employees of nearby businesses. In the case of Kishi station, Toshiko Koyama this task, still fed the cats at the train station took over. The railway company heard about the cats and appointed in January 2007, the seven -year-old Tama officially known as the " Station Head " ( ekichō ), while two other cats were named as alternates. To distinguish Tama from the other two animals, an official cap of the railway company was tailored specifically for them. Later, the cat was equipped with a gold name badge.

Successful marketing

Japanese media reported on the cat, then a substantial increase passenger numbers on the guest Kishigawa line. In the month of January, this rose year on year by 17 percent. In March 2007, an increase of ten per cent to 2.1 million passengers was recorded compared to the previous twelve months. Tama observed the daily incoming trains and travelers, the latter see it as a good luck charm. Officially "works" it from Monday to Saturday 9 to 17 clock and receives a " reward" cat food.

In January 2008, the cat from Wakayama Dentetsu for "Upper Station Head " (スーパー 駅長, Supa ekichō ) was appointed. In the 36 -strong company was thus the only female executive or holds the title after the fifth highest positions held. Accompanied these " transport " with the establishment of a separate " office", a disused ticket sales counter at the station, which was equipped with scratching posts and a cat litter box and in April 2008, formally opened by the Mayor of Kinokawa and the head of the railway company. According to a study published in the fall of 2008 study the cat through the sale of children's books and promotional items as well as a television appearance had a turnover of 1.1 billion yen (about 7.5 million euros ) in 2007. But the profit by the television appearance amounted to 280 million yen ( approximately 2 million euros ). The idea was then partially successfully taken up by other Japanese railway lines, introduced the cats, but also dogs or rabbits as " stationmaster ". Likewise, international media were aware of the animal, including dedicated the U.S. CNN the " 10 - million-dollar cat " end of October 2008 a television report. At the same time Tama was (和 歌 山 県 勲 功 爵(わかやま で ナイト), Wakayama de naito ) appointed for their " contribution to the positive economic effects and because of her charm " by the Governor of the Prefecture for the " Knights of Wakayama ."

In April 2009, Myriam Tonelotto reported in the combined ARTE documentaries and cartoon cats lessons (La voie du chat ), among others, about the phenomenon. At the same time took a new train named Tama Densha on the Kishigawa line on its operation. The train is decorated with cartoon motifs of Tama. Later, a tram got the same painting. The 4,5 kg cat was last in early January 2010 by the railway company to a " manager " (执行 役 员, Yakuin shikkō ) appointed. A short time later Tama was " decommissioned " in the short term, so that the Kishi Station to be renovated and was able to get a new facade, which commemorates the face of Tamas. The construction was completed in early August 2010.

In January 2013, Tama ( shachō - dairi ) of the Company was promoted to " Vice President ".

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