#2020マスコット 最終候補3作品発表。12月11日(月)から #小学生投票 スタート！ pic.twitter.com/tkiQ564C9d

— Tokyo 2020 (@Tokyo2020jp) December 7, 2017

Elementary school students will begin voting for their favorite mascot pairing from December 11, 2017, with the results revealed on February 28, 2018. To help aid them in their selections, the committee has also released official videos, in both Japanese and English, introducing the characteristics of each mascot and the inspiration behind their creation.

The first candidates, known as the “A pairing," feature a checkerboard design that “embodies both old tradition and new innovation.“ The pink Paralympic mascot on the right is said to have a “cherry tactile sense“ drawn from its connection to sakura cherry blossoms.

In the “B pairing,” we have a half lucky beckoning cat and half inari fox character who was “born from the fire and soil that warm Japan“. On the right is the Paralympic mascot, who was “born from the wind and sky that bring different seasons to Japan” and modeled on the guardian dog figures often seen at Japanese shrines.

The final pair in the running to be chosen as the official Games mascots is the “C pairing,” with “the fox that jumped out from Japanese fairy tales” and the shape-shifting raccoon that transforms itself using the leaf on its head.

So which pairing would you like to see become the official mascots of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games? Let us know below!

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