Road safety badges featuring the Pokemon franchise mascot Pikachu have been making rounds in Japan. The Pokemon Company revealed that it has been helping distribute the badges to new first-graders who just entered elementary schools in the Spring of 2024 in the country.
The badges are modeled after the actual pedestrian children crossing sign in Japan but with the notable addition of Pikachu. The small Japanese hiragana text can be translated to “Before crossing, don’t forget to check your right and left sides.”
These badges are not only for decoration, as they also come with actual traffic accident injury insurance from Sompo Japan. The back side reveals that insurance will be valid until May 31, 2025, or a year after the student’s first school admission day if it happens after April 1, 2024.
Both sides of the badge are available to view via an animated GIF image on the Japanese official Poke Times X account:
The Pokemon franchise, which originated as video games on Game Boy and subsequent Nintendo consoles, has since been featured in many aspects of pop culture not only in Japan but also worldwide. Pokemon Center Online Japan is still accepting pre-orders for Mother’s Day-themed Pikachu flower arrangements until April 15, 2024. The Chinese animation studio Hanmu Chunhua also made a special short animation with the Japanese title “Tadaima” around the 2024 Lunar New Year.
The road safety badges featuring Pikachu are being distributed to first-grade students around Japan in Spring 2024.
