She's climbed the career ladder of a major Japanese train company, and now Nitama the cat has been officially appointed the stationmaster of a train station following the death of her predecessor Tama.
Tama, a 16-year-old former stray turned stationmaster at the Wakayama Electric Railway (WER) company who was credited with saving the company from financial ruin, died in June leaving a massive void in the company.
Now, after 50 days of mourning as per traditional Japanese Shinto beliefs, Nitama has been named as the station master at Kishi train station in Wakayama Prefecture.
In an elaborate ceremony honouring the past and future, five-year-old Nitama has taken up the mantle.
The first graduate of the cat stationmaster training school, Nitama first began her career as a receptionist at the Okayama Electric Tramway, before being transferred in January 2012 to the WER to support Tama.
She was appointed station master at Idakiso station and deputy master at Kishi station.
"Tama was very mild and she seldom got angry, though she was strict with her subordinate Nitama," WER president Mitsunobu Kojima says.
Mr Kojima has confidence in Nitama, saying she'd be an "excellent" station master.
She passed at the top of her class in stationmaster training in which "we checked aptitude which the cats feel comfortable with people at the workplace and they can willingly wear their hat".
Mr Kojima says he chose Nitama over another cat – Sun Tama-Tama – because she'd worked directly with Tama and is quite popular with people.
The company says Tama was responsible for an estimated 1.1 billion yen (NZ$1.3 million) to the local economy during her time as stationmaster.
3 News
