By MARI ENDO/ Staff Writer
December 19, 2023 at 07:40 JST
IKEDA, Osaka Prefecture--A special promotional aircraft featuring the official Myaku-Myaku mascot of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo is now airborne.
The JAL Myaku-Myaku Jet was unveiled for public viewing by Japan Airlines Co. on Nov. 28 and took to the skies the same day.
Nov. 28 marked 500 days until the expo kicks off.
“As the aircraft flies across Japan, we hope people will feel much closer to Myaku-Myaku,” said Kenichiro Ochi, a JAL managing executive officer.
The exterior of the aircraft is adorned with images of Myaku-Myaku and other characters in blue and red, the colors of the Osaka Kansai Expo.
The dedicated design was applied to an Embraer 190 owned by J-Air Corp., an affiliated company of JAL. The aircraft operates mainly out of Osaka Airport in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture.
Officials said the decorated model will be available for passengers through May 2025 even after the Osaka Kansai Expo kicks off.
A second promotional aircraft is also slated, the officials said.
Sixty pupils from the Hotarugaike Elementary School run by Toyonaka city, Osaka Prefecture, turned out to help celebrate the plane’s debut by arranging themselves into the shape of the number “500” in front of the aircraft.
The official website of the 2025 expo describes Myaku-Myaku as “a mysterious creature born from the unification of cells and water.”
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The JAL Myaku-Myaku Jet is unveiled in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Nov. 28. The date marked 500 days until the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo opens. (Mari Endo)
