Ofo to launch bikes with Japanese bear icon

A Chinese employee dressed in the costume of Japan Kumamoto Prefecture's bear mascot 'Kumamon' at Ofo's headquarters in Beijing, January 16, 2018. [Photo: IC]

Chinese bike-sharing firm Ofo has announced plans to launch 50,000 bicycles bearing a black bear image from the western Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto.

The announcement comes after Ofo signed a deal with the Kumamoto prefectural government and Cyber Sourcing, a Japanese firm which sells goods themed with the bear icon in China.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

The new bikes marked with ‘Kumamon’ are set to be put on the streets in China in the coming month. At the same time, 'Kumamon' will start popping up on Ofo's smart phone apps.

A Chinese employee dressed in the costume of Japan Kumamoto Prefecture's bear mascot "Kumamon" poses with an Ofo bike at Ofo's headquarters in Beijing, January 16, 2018. [Photo: IC]

'Kumamon' was created by the Kumamoto government in 2010 as a mascot for a campaign to attract more tourists to the region.

Data from the Bank of Japan suggest that the mascot generated 1.2 billion U.S. dollars for Kumamoto within two years after its release.

Ofo is operating more than 10 million shared bikes across numerous Chinese cities.