An appeal by the organisers of the 2025 Osaka World Expo in Japan for the public to name the event’s mascot has led to a deluge of suggestions – although most are unlikely to be accepted by the judges. Officially adopted by the Expo in March, the winning entry is the work of picture book artist Yohei Yamashita. It depicts a blue, bipedal figure topped with a circle of red, interconnected bubbles containing five eyes looking in different directions. Expo organisers said at the time that they were particularly impressed by the mascot’s adaptability, as it can be used in many different ways while still incorporating key elements of the original design. It “is alive and has always wanted to change,” the selection committee said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Expo2025 大阪・関西万博 (@expo2025japan) The mascot’s blue body represents the waters around Osaka, organisers said. No explanation was given for why it has five eyes. Initial reactions from the Japanese public were mixed at best, with some suggesting the design resembles a creature from a horror movie rather than a cuddly mascot designed to encourage more people to attend a world exposition. Winter Olympics: outrage after panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen speaks like a man Japan’s government has high hopes for the 2025 event, anticipating it will help jump-start the country’s tourism sector. Japan welcomed a record 31.9 million foreign tourists in 2019, but closed its borders in 2020 amid the pandemic . It aims to reopen to international tourists next month. The expo mascot has been given the unofficial name Inochi no Kagayaki-kun , which translates to “Shining Life- kun ” – kun being a diminutive term for a young man. A campaign to find an official name for the creature has since been launched through the expo’s website and social media platforms, with a 300,000 yen (US$2,295) grand prize for the winning entry. However, Japan’s social media users appear to have taken the competition as an invitation to express their true feelings about the mascot’s design – calling it a slew of disparaging names on Twitter, Facebook, online chat sites and in the comments sections of online media coverage of the contest. Early entries on the expo’s Twitter page included “Death-kun”, “Curse of the Abyss”, and simply “The End”. One contributor on the Japan Today news website said: “How about ‘Demented Terrifying My Guts Are My Face Monster From Hades’ – because that is what the mascot is,” adding: “My gods, who approved that monstrosity?” Other suggestions included, “Mr you’ve got to be f*****g kidding,” “Teenage-body-dysmorphia-kun”, “Oozie the Doozie” and “Intestinal-eyes-kun”. More succinct nominations include “Queasy”, “Creepy-kun”, “The Thing” and “The Blob”. Several people questioned the thought processes behind the selection, with one poster on the site stating, “That is frankly just frightening …. [it] might be appropriate for a nuclear accident, but not a World Expo.” Another pointed out that the promotional images for the event and the soft toys that will be sold will “mentally scar a whole generation of kids. What the heck were they thinking?” Organisers are accepting proposals for names until May 16, with entrants urged to come up with one that is original, international, easy to remember and aligned with the expo.