Feline Super-Stationmaster

[Visitor K]

和歌山!! the prefecture that brought you dolphin hunting and school whale burgers.. now a stationmaster cat!
makes me wonder how many of my old obaasan students went to kishi station to get pictures of that cat..

[Mulboyne]

A publisher is now releasing a book of photos of Maron, Oku-Nakagawa Kogen's Yorkshire Terrier honorary stationmaster.

[Visitor K]

how cute. they put big obachan glasses on that dog.

[Kagetsu]

how cute. they put big obachan glasses on that dog.

I can't explain it, but you cracked me up. ^_^ Thanks! ^O^

[FG Lurker]

Cat 'stationmaster' gets promoted to executive post at railway company
Mainichi Japan, January 4, 2010

[floatr][/floatr]KINOKAWA, Wakayama -- The cat stationmaster of a railroad station here has been appointed as a corporate executive of the Wakayama Electric Railway Co., the company has announced.

The train operator has promoted 10-year-old female cat Tama, currently a stationmaster of Kishi Station on the Kishikawa Line, to the post of operating officer in recognition of her contribution to expanding the customer base.

[...]

The cat has climbed the ladder of success swiftly since she was first appointed as the stationmaster in January 2007. Tama was promoted to "Super Stationmaster" the following year and to corporate executive in a mere three years since her first appointment. Tama is officially introduced as an operating officer on the company's Web site.

(Full Story)

I was shocked to read that it's the first time in the world that a cat has been promoted to the executive level of a railway company. What are all those other railways thinking!?

(Photo grabbed from the Wakayama Shinpo Japanese story.)

[eddie]

sadly, there is still rampant discrimination.

it's nice to see Wakayama Electric Railway Co. willing to take the unpopular but right position.

history will bear them out.

[eddie]

somewhere - i'd like to think it's in heaven - jackie robinson is smiling...

[Visitor K]

what will the wakayamans think of next?

[Mike Oxlong]

She turned 16 earlier this year, but has sadly passed...

[yanpa]

Goodbye Kitty!

[Coligny]

./