The Vatican has unveiled a new mascot for the Catholic Church in the hope of engaging young people - a cartoon character named Luce. WION tells you more about the mascot in this report.

Vatican's Anime-Inspired Mascot

The largest discount store in Japan, Don Quijote also known as Donki, was forced to reverse its decision of replacing the mascot after it faced massive protests from its fans on social media.&nbsp;

Donki has more than 600 stores across the nation and is famous for selling multiple ranges of products at discounted prices. Donki's blue penguin mascot wearing a Santa hat 'Donpen' has become the store's identity.&nbsp;

Hence, when it was announced that Donki will replace Donpen it lead to a huge uproar over Japanese social media in the past week.&nbsp;

ALSO READ| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-to-pay-people-to-have-babies-in-an-attempt-to-boost-declining-birth-rate-542318">Japan to pay people to have babies in an attempt to boost declining birth rate</a>

On Twitter, the store announced its decision to replace its penguin mascot with "Dojo-chan", which is an anthropomorphic representation of "do", a Japanese katakana character. No reason was stated for the change in its mascot.&nbsp;

The sudden decision to replace the mascot led to an outpour of angry reactions on social media. Few people posted their photos in Donpen onesies, while other people said that they will boycott Donki stores.

Meanwhile, a social media user started a poll asking people their preference for the mascot. The post got more than 33,000 clicks as Donpen emerged winner with 93% of the vote.

Don Quijote president Naoki Yoshida, meanwhile, said on Twitter that he failed to "understand the situation either" and had asked "relevant departments" to provide him with clarification.

WATCH|&nbsp;There is no end to the snow in Japan!

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/there-is-no-end-to-the-snow-in-japan-544878/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

After a few hours, Yoshida said that the company would continue with Donpen as the mascot.

"We have taken the opinions of many of you very seriously and have discussed them with our board members. As a result, it was decided that 'Donpen' would continue as the official character," he stated.

Pan Pacific International Holdings, the operator of Don Quijote, issued an apology and added that they appreciated the support of people for Donpen.

As per Donki's official website, Donpen's birthplace in Antarctica and he was raised in Tokyo. He loves "walks at night" and "it's rumoured his appearance changes", said the store.

(With inputs from agencies)

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

The largest discount store in Japan, Don Quijote also known as Donki, was forced to reverse its decision of replacing the mascot after it faced massive protests from its fans on social media.

The largest discount store in Japan, Don Quijote also known as Donki, was forced to reverse its decision of replacing the mascot after it faced massive protests from its fans on social media. Donki has more than 600 stores across the nation and is famous for selling multiple ranges of products at discounted prices. Donki's blue penguin mascot wearing a Santa hat 'Donpen' has become the store's identity. Hence, when it was announced that Donki will replace Donpen it lead to a huge uproar over Japanese social media in the past week. ALSO READ| Japan to pay people to have babies in an attempt to boost declining birth rate On Twitter, the store announced its decision to replace its penguin mascot with "Dojo-chan", which is an anthropomorphic representation of "do", a Japanese katakana character. No reason was stated for the change in its mascot. The sudden decision to replace the mascot led to an outpour of angry reactions on social media. Few people posted their photos in Donpen onesies, while other people said that they will boycott Donki stores. Meanwhile, a social media user started a poll asking people their preference for the mascot. The post got more than 33,000 clicks as Donpen emerged winner with 93% of the vote. Don Quijote president Naoki Yoshida, meanwhile, said on Twitter that he failed to "understand the situation either" and had asked "relevant departments" to provide him with clarification. WATCH| There is no end to the snow in Japan! After a few hours, Yoshida said that the company would continue with Donpen as the mascot. "We have taken the opinions of many of you very seriously and have discussed them with our board members. As a result, it was decided that 'Donpen' would continue as the official character," he stated. Pan Pacific International Holdings, the operator of Don Quijote, issued an apology and added that they appreciated the support of people for Donpen. As per Donki's official website, Donpen's birthplace in Antarctica and he was raised in Tokyo. He loves "walks at night" and "it's rumoured his appearance changes", said the store. (With inputs from agencies)

Japan's discount store Donki reverses decision to replace mascot after uproar

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Meet Olly, the official mascot for Men's Hockey World Cup 2018

The 21st edition of football World&nbsp;Cup is hosted by Russia and the event will start from June 14. The madness for FIFA World Cup is very evident in the entire world as it is one of the biggest sporting events on earth.

As we all know that each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot, similarly, Russia also unveiled their mascot for the upcoming World Cup. The mascot designs represent a characteristic feature of the host country.

This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star.

More than one million Russians voted on FIFA.com during the month-long voting period to select Zabivaka as the official mascot of World Cup 2018. 53 per cent Russians voted Zabivaka in the online polling campaign.

Zabivaka, that represents an anthropomorphic wolf with brown and white wool T-shirt with the words "RUSSIA 2018" written on the front. The wolf also has put on orange sporty glasses and the combination of white, blue and red T-shirt and shorts are the national colors of the Russian team.

Zabivaka will play a very important role in the upcoming World Cup. The wolf will not only promote the event and entertain crowds at the stadiums, but also become an ambassador for Russia and a worldwide 'celebrity'.

Facts about Zabivaka:

<ul>
	<li>Zabivaka is charming, confident and social.</li>
	<li>He likes to play football and always dreamt of becoming a football star.</li>
	<li>He is a fair player, values his team members and respects his opponents, and he plays with skill and purpose.</li>
	<li>Zabivaka is a fun loving wolf and fun to be around. He knows how to make others laugh.</li>
	<li>He is very particular about his clothing.</li>
	<li>He is a photo freak and loves to pose for photos.</li>
</ul>

This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores"

The 21st edition of football World Cup is hosted by Russia and the event will start from June 14. The madness for FIFA World Cup is very evident in the entire world as it is one of the biggest sporting events on earth. As we all know that each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot, similarly, Russia also unveiled their mascot for the upcoming World Cup. The mascot designs represent a characteristic feature of the host country. This year's official mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka which means "the one who scores" in Russian. Zabivaka is charming, confident and social and has always dreamt of becoming a football star. More than one million Russians voted on FIFA.com during the month-long voting period to select Zabivaka as the official mascot of World Cup 2018. 53 per cent Russians voted Zabivaka in the online polling campaign. Zabivaka, that represents an anthropomorphic wolf with brown and white wool T-shirt with the words "RUSSIA 2018" written on the front. The wolf also has put on orange sporty glasses and the combination of white, blue and red T-shirt and shorts are the national colors of the Russian team. Zabivaka will play a very important role in the upcoming World Cup. The wolf will not only promote the event and entertain crowds at the stadiums, but also become an ambassador for Russia and a worldwide 'celebrity'. Facts about Zabivaka: Zabivaka is charming, confident and social. He likes to play football and always dreamt of becoming a football star. He is a fair player, values his team members and respects his opponents, and he plays with skill and purpose. Zabivaka is a fun loving wolf and fun to be around. He knows how to make others laugh. He is very particular about his clothing. He is a photo freak and loves to pose for photos.

FIFA World Cup: Meet Zabivaka, official mascot for Russia 2018

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