Years Articles

Japanese Pop Group Takes on Mission to Help Lonely Wombat Find a Mate A Japanese all-girl pop group has taken on an unusual mission in Osaka: helping a lonely Australian wombat find a mate. The group, known as The Keeper Girls, joined forces with Satsukiyama Zoo to raise money needed to bring a female wombat from Australia to Japan. The unusual campaign centred on Fuku, an 11-year-old wombat originally from Tasmania who had been living at Satsukiyama Zoo in Osaka since 2007. After losing his intended breeding partner, Fuku had spent several years living without another wombat companion. Zoo officials hoped to change that, but bringing another wombat from Australia would be expensive. The estimated cost of transporting a suitable female to Japan was around A$50,000, creating a significant fundraising challenge for a zoo that does not charge visitors an admission fee. Fuku’s Life in Osaka Fuku arrived at Satsukiyama Zoo in 2007 after being brought from Tasmania. He did not make the journey alone. His intended breeding partner, a wombat named Ayaha, travelled with him to Japan. The pair were expected to provide an opportunity for the zoo to breed wombats, but the plan changed when Ayaha died in 2010 following a long illness. That left Fuku on his own. By the time the campaign began in 2016, he had been without another wombat companion for several years. Satsukiyama Zoo’s deputy curator, Kozo Sejima, believed it was time to look for a new companion for him. Sejima said Fuku had been alone since Ayaha’s death and that the zoo believed he would benefit from having a partner. The zoo also described Fuku as an active animal. He spent time digging holes and taking daytime naps, characteristics that became part of the light-hearted way the campaign presented the search for a new female wombat. Finding a Female Wombat Was Expensive The Japanese local government had agreed to approach Australian zoos about finding a potential mate for Fuku. The problem was not simply finding another wombat, however. Transporting an animal from Australia to Japan would require a substantial amount of money. The estimated cost was around A$50,000. For Satsukiyama Zoo, raising that amount represented a particular challenge because the facility did not charge an admission fee. The absence of an entrance charge means the zoo could not simply use additional ticket revenue to finance the project. It needed another way of generating the money required to bring a female wombat to Osaka. That was where The Keeper Girls became involved. The Keeper Girls Join the Campaign The Keeper Girls were an all-female Japanese idol group associated with Satsukiyama Zoo and the city of Ikeda in Osaka. Rather than simply promoting the zoo, the group decided to make Fuku’s search for a companion one of its main projects. The group partnered with the zoo with the specific aim of helping raise the estimated A$50,000 needed to transport a female wombat from Australia. Their fundraising plan combined the traditional activities of an idol group with the zoo’s cause. The Keeper Girls wrote a song about Fuku and planned to perform it while also selling their CD and merchandise. The idea gave the group a subject that was closely connected to the zoo and its local community. It also provided fans with a way to contribute to the campaign by buying music and merchandise rather than simply making a conventional donation. An Idol Group With a Local Connection One of the group’s members, Marina Hamada, had grown up in the area and had known Satsukiyama Zoo since she was young. Hamada explained that learning about the zoo’s situation motivated her to become an idol and take part in something that could benefit both the facility and the wider community. That local connection was an important part of The Keeper Girls’ involvement. The group was not simply choosing an unusual charity campaign from outside the area. Its members had a personal connection with the zoo and saw supporting it as part of their role in the local community. For Hamada and the other members, the project also gave their activities as performers a specific purpose. Their music could be used to draw attention to the zoo and help raise money for a practical goal. A $50,000 Mission The Keeper Girls regarded reaching the A$50,000 target as their mission for 2016. At the time of the campaign, however, the zoo had raised only about one-tenth of the required amount. That meant the group still had a considerable amount of fundraising to do. Selling CDs and merchandise and performing the wombat song would therefore have to generate substantially more support if the campaign was to reach its target. The fundraising effort also depended on maintaining public interest. A campaign centred on a single animal could attract attention initially, but the group needed to keep Fuku’s story in front of potential supporters long enough to raise the full amount. The unusual nature of the story helped. A Japanese idol group campaigning on behalf of a Tasmanian wombat was certainly different from a conventional fundraising appeal, giving the project a distinctive identity that could be shared with audiences in Japan and overseas. Why Australia Was Important Fuku’s origins in Tasmania were central to the search for a new companion. Wombats are native to Australia, and the Japanese zoo needed to work with Australian facilities to find a suitable female animal. The local government in Japan planned to approach Australian zoos once the financial requirements could be met. The fundraising campaign was therefore not simply about supporting the zoo’s everyday expenses. It was intended to make an international animal transfer possible. Transporting a wombat between Australia and Japan involves considerably more expense and planning than moving an animal between nearby facilities. The A$50,000 estimate reflected the scale of the undertaking as understood by the zoo at the time. The campaign consequently had two stages: first, raise the money required for the move, and then work with Australian zoos and