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Astro Boy, Pokémon Lend a Hand in Baseball, Olympics

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team played this past weekend in vintage uniforms from their days as the Yakult Atoms. True to their name, the Yakult Atoms uniforms had manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka's most famous character, Mighty Atom (Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy), embroidered on their sleeves. The vintage uniforms were part of the team's promotional campaign for the Golden Week holidays.

During the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 in March, Japan promoted its bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games by having Astro Boy and Pokémon's Pikachu greet attendees with Shintarō Ishihara (Tokyo's mayor). Dr. Ichiro Kono, the Tokyo 2016 bid's CEO and chairman, said, "Tokyo 2016 is honored to have been able to appear at this festival with the anime stars, who are treasured national icons beloved by youth worldwide."

Source: JHockey via The Beat, Tokyo 2016 via CScout