One has an athletic¹ figure and a strong sense of justice. The other is a cherry blossom-inspired superhero.

一个体型健壮，且充满正义感，另一个灵感来自樱花，是个超级英雄。

Meet the new Olympic and Paralympic mascots³ that the Tokyo 2020 organisers hope will whip up enthusiasm for the Games – and drive merchandise sales.

来看看2020年东京奥运会和残奥会的吉祥物，东京奥运会主办方希望它们能激起人们对奥运会的热情，当然还希望能带动商品销售。

All up, 2,042 individuals and groups submitted designs that they hoped would capture the public’s affection. Experts whittled⁴ the list down to three design pairs, which were then opened up for voting by millions of school students across Japan.

总共有2042个个人和机构提交了吉祥物设计作品，希望能在评选中胜出。专家们从中选出三组设计，面向日本数百万名小学生公开投票。

入选的三组作品，分别是配有奥运会会徽图案的机器人（A），被视为神明使者的狐狸和石狮子（B），以及经常出现在日本民间故事里的狐狸和狸子（C）。

Nearly 600 cheering schoolchildren attended a ceremony in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward⁵ on Wednesday to hear the results of that vote. The winning Olympic and Paralympic mascots have not yet been given names, but they are said to “respect each other” and are “very good friends”.

近600名兴高采烈的小学生参加了周三（2月28日）在东京品川区举行的奥运会吉祥物揭晓仪式，等待投票结果。胜出的奥运会和残奥会吉祥物还没有取名，但据说它们“相互尊重，是好朋友”。

据官方解释，奥运会吉祥物有着运动健将的体魄和公平公正的态度：

“能够温故知新、将传统和近未来合而为一的角色。既珍视传统又时刻把握最新信息。正义感爆棚，运动神经超群，在任何地点都能瞬间移动。诞生自传统的市松纹和近未来的世界观。”

With a futuristic blue and white chequered pattern, the Olympic mascot² is described as having a special power allowing it to move anywhere instantaneously. “The mascot has a strong sense of justice and is very athletic,” the biographical notes said.

奥运会吉祥物蓝白相间，带有未来主义色彩，据称有在任何地点都能瞬间移动的超能力。官方解释称其“正义感爆棚，运动神经超群”。

残奥会吉祥物受到樱花启发而创作：

“拥有樱花触角和超能力的超酷角色。平时很文静，紧要关头能量爆棚。信念坚定，热爱大自然，能跟石头和风对话，用眼睛移动物体。”

The Paralympic mascot features a pink and white design inspired by cherry blossom flowers, and it can apparently⁶ move things just by looking at them. “It has a dignified⁷ inner strength and a kind heart that loves nature,” according to the description.

而残奥会吉祥物受到樱花启发设计而成，以粉白相间的设计为特征，据称能用眼睛移动物体。官方解释称其“信念坚定，心地善良，热爱大自然”。

The winning designer, Ryo Taniguchi, is an illustrator from Fukuoka in southern Japan. “I’m just so spaced out at the moment,” he said when the decision was announced. “I just want to tell my beloved wife that I’ve been chosen.”

此次胜出的吉祥物设计师谷口良是来自日本南部城市福冈的插画师。他在结果公布时说：“听到这个消息，我大脑一片空白。我只想告诉我心爱的妻子，我被选上了。”

The selection of mascots had attracted wide publicity⁸ across Japan. Some 200,000 classes at 16,000 schools took part in selection process.

奥运吉祥物投票吸引了全日本的广泛关注。1.6万所小学的大约20万个班级的学生参与了投票。

Mascots are big business in Japan, with many towns and companies trying to come up with distinctive⁹ design to promote their region or product.

吉祥物在日本是门大生意，很多城镇和公司试图想出独特的设计来进行地方或产品推广。

Staffers wearing big cuddly¹⁰ costumes often turn up at trade and food festivals to meet and greet visitors – and hand out business cards. The best-known mascots can drive sales. Sales of food and toy products bearing the image of Kumamon, ubiquitous black bear from Kumamoto region, hit a record 128 billion yen¹¹ in 2016.

在贸易和食品节上，经常有员工身穿大大的逗人喜爱的服装迎来送往，并分发名片。一些最有名的吉祥物还能带动销量。吉祥物熊本熊在熊本县随处可见，而带有熊本熊画像的食品和玩具产品在2016年销售额达到创纪录的1280亿日元（约合76亿元人民币）。

The organisers presumably hope that the mascots will have a more successful reception than original Tokyo 2020 logo unveiled in 2015. The design had to be replaced after accusations¹² of plagiarism¹³.

主办方希望比起2015年公布的东京奥运会会徽，奥运会吉祥物的受欢迎程度会更高。东京奥运会会徽曾因抄袭丑闻而被替换。