was the short-lived English name of a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

of the Japanese company Fukushima Industries. The mascot has the form of a genderless anthropomorphic egg with red feet, little blue wings, and a happy smiling face. Fukushima Industries (now known as Fukushima Galilei) is based in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, and manufactures industrial cooling systems, particularly for the food industry. It has offices throughout Japan and in many parts of Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It launched its new mascot in April 2013, to little attention. The name "Fukuppy" was a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of " Fukushima", the surname of the founder of the company, and the English word "happy". According to Fukushima Industries, Fukuppy says, In mid-October 2013, Fukuppy was noticed by English-speakers who spotted the inadvertent similarity to the English word " fuckup". Fukuppy rapidly attracted publicity not only in English (including in Japan), but also in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

, Catalan, Dutch, French, German and Swedish. Some early reports wrongly associated Fukuppy with

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

, or with the cleanup efforts after the 2011

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...

. Fukushima Industries speedily published an apology and announced that it would be withdrawing the English name of its mascot. Fukuppy has been cited as an example of the risks associated with , Japanese-language expressions based on English words that do not exist in standard English.

Explanatory notes

References

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Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

, date=15 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20131016_00794105 , title= Maak kennis met Fukuppy, het ei met de ongelukkige naam , newspaper=

De Standaard (, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...

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De Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...

, url-access=subscription , language=Dutch , date=17 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020; {{cite news , url=https://www.ad.nl/bizar/fukuppy-niet-de-ideale-naam-voor-mascotte-japans-bedrijf~a93a86a7/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F , title='Fukuppy' niet de ideale naam voor mascotte Japans bedrijf , newspaper=

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...

, language=Dutch , date=17 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite news , url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/opinion/blogs/9311240/Eggsactly-the-right-name , title=Eggsactly the right name , website=

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

, location=New Zealand , date=22 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020; {{cite news , url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/asia/010416/japan-s-kinki-university-ditches-saucy-name.html , title=Japan's Kinki University ditches saucy name , author=Agence France Presse , author-link=Agence France Presse , newspaper=

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The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...

, language=French , date=15 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020; {{cite news , url=https://www.lesechos.fr/2013/10/japon-fukuppy-la-mascotte-victime-malheureuse-de-laccident-de-fukushima-345171 , title=Fukuppy, la mascotte victime malheureuse de l'accident de Fukushima , first=Claude , last=Fouquet , newspaper= Les Echos , language=French , date=15 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 By {{ill, Claude Fouquet, fr. {{cite news , url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/15/fukuppy-fukushima-mascot-japan-fridge-egg-name , title=Meet Fukuppy, the inadvertent Fukushima mascot , first=Justin , last=McCurry , newspaper=

, date=15 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/fukuppy-fukushima-industries-new-mascot-branding-disaster-8881883.html , title=Fukuppy, Fukushima Industries new mascot, is branding disaster , first=Felicity , last=Morse , newspaper=

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, date=16 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020; {{cite web , url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1331431/fukushima-attempt-rebrand-fukuppy-gets-lost-translation , title=Fukushima attempt at rebrand – Fukuppy – gets lost in translation , first=Julian , last=Ryall , newspaper=

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

, date=14 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/15/national/firms-mascots-name-earns-ridicule/ , title=Japanese firm's mascot name earns ridicule , first=Tomoko , last=Otake , newspaper=

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, date=16 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/fukushima-industries-unveils-new-mascot-with-an-unfortunate-name , title=Fukushima Industries unveils new mascot with an unfortunate name , first=Preston , last=Phro , website=

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, date=15 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 {{cite web , url=https://www.galilei.co.jp/company/character/ , title=コーポレートキャラクター紹介 orporate Character Introduction, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119144707/https://www.galilei.co.jp/company/character/, archive-date=19 November 2020, website=Fukushima Galilei , language=Japanese , access-date=21 November 2020 {{cite web , url=http://neimik.com/ca/fukuppy-naming-i-malentesos/ , title=Fukuppy: naming i malentesos , website=neimik.com , first=Jordi , last=Garcia Soler , language=Catalan , date=26 November 2013 , access-date=19 October 2020 {{cite news , url=https://www.netwerk24.com/huisgenoot/Nuus/dis-nou-n-regte-flater-20170528 , title=Dis nou 'n regte...flater , newspaper={{ill, Netwerk24, af , language=Afrikaans , date=17 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite web , url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-10-15/shut-fukuppy-fukushima-industries-new-mascot-has-unfortunate-name , title=Shut the Fukuppy: Fukushima Industries' new mascot has an unfortunate name , first=Alexander , last=Besant , publisher=

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, date=15 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://qz.com/135179/fukushima-industries-just-made-a-very-unfortunate-branding-choice/ , title=Fukushima Industries just made a very unfortunate branding choice , first=Gwynn , last=Guilford , website=

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, date=14 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 {{cite web , url=https://soranews24.com/2013/10/12/fukushima-corportation-unveils-new-mascot-with-an-unfortunate-but-hilarious-name/ , title=Fukushima Corporation unveils new mascot with an unfortunate (but hilarious) name , first=Preston , last=Phro , website=Rocket News , date=12 October 2013 , access-date=21 November 2020 {{cite news , url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/japanskt-foretag-fukuppy , title=Fukushimamaskoten – dagens skämt på nätet , website=

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, language=Swedish , date=16 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020; {{cite news , url=https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2013-10-15/maskoten-fukuppy-ett-misstag , title=Maskoten 'Fukuppy' ett misstag , newspaper=

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, language=Swedish , date=15 October 2013 , url-access=registration , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite web , url=https://www.tabibito.de/japan/blog/2013/10/22/ein-totales-fukuppy/ , title=Ein totales Fukuppy , website=tabibito.de , language=German , date=22 October 2013 , access-date=19 November 2020 {{cite magazine , url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/14/look-its-fukuppy-to-the-rescue/ , title=Look! It's Fukuppy to the Rescue , first=David , last=Stout , authorlink=David Stout , magazine=

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, date=14 October 2013 , access-date=20 November 2020 Cartoon mascots Corporate mascots Anthropomorphic objects Object mascots Japanese mascots Male characters in advertising Mascots introduced in 2013 Fictional characters from Kansai Wasei-eigo