Cat aiding local economy

TOKYO (AFP) - As the economic might of Japan faces up to the
global banking crisis a single cat has boosted the finances of a
small Japanese city by millions of dollars, according to a study.

Tortoiseshell Tama is the master of the unmanned Kishi train
station where she was born and raised, on the provincial
Kishigawa Line.

But it is not her labours on the platform which have seen the
cash rolling in.

It is rather Tama's irresistible charm which has brought tourists
flocking in their thousands to the western city of Kinokawa to
see the feline worker patrolling in the uniform of her office --
a Wakayama Electric Railway cap.

With 55,000 more people having used the Kishigawa Line than
would normally be expected, Tama is being credited with a
contribution to the local economy calculated to have reached
as much as 1.1 billion yen (10.44 million dollars) in 2007 alone,
according to a study announced last week.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor at Kansai University's School
of Accountancy, said picture books and other merchandise
featuring the feline stationmaster also produced significant
economic effects.

A television appearance and other publicity surrounding Tama --
who receives cat food in lieu of a salary -- was worth 280 million
yen, according to Miyamoto.

Tama was born from a stray cat brought to the station by a
cleaner and kept by Toshiko Koyama, a local who runs a
grocery store next door.

The station went unmanned in April 2006 as the line was
losing money. But Tama stuck around.

She rose to national stardom in January 2007 as the railway
company formally appointed her as "stationmaster".

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