Japanese firm considers changes to mascot 'Fukuppy'

OSAKA, Japan, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Japan's Fukushima Industries Corp. said it is considering a spelling change for its corporate mascot, a cartoon character dubbed Fukuppy.

The company, which produces industrial freezers and refrigerators, said the mascot's spelling in Roman characters may be altered to better reflect its pronunciation, "Foo-koo-pee," to get away from jokes based on another pronunciation that can be interpreted as obscene in English, The Japan Times reported Tuesday.

The character, an egg with wings and red feet, was named as a combination of the "fuku" part of the company's name and the suffix "uppy."

"This time, the name of our corporate character, because of the way it's written, has been regarded as inappropriate, or has been misunderstood among English-speaking people," the company said Tuesday. "We sincerely apologize for the fact that we have caused misunderstandings and concerns among many people."