AnimalsAdapted from Wikipedia
A former stray cat named Tama was made stationmaster of a small Japanese railway station, and visitors came to see her.
Tama was appointed honorary stationmaster at the unstaffed Kishi station in Wakayama prefecture in 2007. Visitors flocked to see her, and The Guardian reported that she saved the obscure rural line from financial ruin. About 3,000 people attended her funeral in 2015. Wikipedia says her appointment sparked copycat attempts in Japan to boost tourism using cats.
Sources
- Tama (cat) Wikipedia
- Nekonomics Wikipedia
- Tama the cat: 3,000 attend elaborate funeral for Japan's feline stationmaster The Guardian
Adapted from Wikipedia's article Nekonomics, first featured in its "Did you know" section, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Browse reworded it after checking the sources above; this fact's text is offered under the same licence.
What the wording keeps
- honorary title
- saved the line from financial ruin, as reported by The Guardian
- about 3,000 at the funeral (reported figure)
Checked against its sources by an AI research agent on 4 November 2026; not yet reviewed by a person.
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