Japan Reveals the Three Characters Competing to Replace the Iconic Suica Penguin

JR East has officially revealed the three characters competing to replace the iconic Suica Penguin, giving the public the final say over which new mascot will become the face of Japan’s hugely popular transportation card.

The current Suica Penguin is set to retire on March 31, 2027 after 25 years with the service, with its successor taking over from April 1 as JR East moves ahead with a major transformation of the Suica brand.

Suica launched in 2001 as a rechargeable IC card for train travel before expanding into electronic payments, with the penguin created by illustrator Chiharu Sakazaki appearing alongside the service from the beginning and eventually becoming a familiar presence across stations, advertising and merchandise.

JR East is now developing Suica beyond its traditional role in transportation and small payments through its “Suica Renaissance” initiative, with the company describing its future goal as turning the platform into a broader “device for everyday life”.

The new mascot is intended to represent that next stage, and after ideas were gathered from JR East Group employees, young creators selected by a judging committee were asked to develop original character proposals.

Those proposals have now been narrowed down to three finalists, currently known simply as Character A, Character B and Character C.

Let’s take a look at the three candidates!

Character A is an orange squirrel whose body is crossed by a single continuous line running from its head to the tip of its tail, representing a railway connecting Japan and the people who live there.

The character has been drawn with soft rounded shapes and was created with the idea of becoming a friendly companion that stays close to people during everyday life.

Character B is a purple rabbit designed around the idea of listening to the people and cities around it before jumping forward into the future.

Its purple color combines blue, representing the reassurance of travelling smoothly, with red representing excitement, while its large ears are intended to become part of the character’s personality when animated.

Character C is a fluffy orange creature of intentionally unclear species that carries a small mole inside a pouch, with the pair representing the excitement of travelling somewhere new.

The idea centers on the orange character taking the mole, which has only ever known the world underground, to see new places as Suica itself becomes usable in more situations.

The finalists were chosen by a selection committee that includes broadcaster and cultural producer Kundo Koyama, model Saya Ichikawa, character designer Yosuke Kihara, designer Tomoe Shinohara, voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda and creative director Manabu Mizuno.

Anyone can vote for their preferred design regardless of age, nationality, gender or occupation, meaning overseas fans of the Suica Penguin are also able to take part in choosing its replacement.

Voting opened on September 8 and will remain available through JR East’s official Suica new character website until September 23 at 11:59 PM JST, with each person limited to one vote.

The candidate receiving the most votes will be officially unveiled as the new Suica character on November 18, the 25th anniversary of the service’s launch, before JR East begins a separate public campaign to choose its name.

The eventual name is scheduled to be revealed in March 2027 as part of the final handover from the Suica Penguin, bringing one of Japan’s longest-running transportation mascots to the end of its 25-year run.

Until then, JR East is continuing its year-long “Penguin Years” farewell campaign, which celebrates the mascot’s history through special events, merchandise, archived artwork and other promotions ahead of its retirement.