Chiitan the otter was riding high this spring. After becoming one of the most popular characters in the country thanks to its chaotic online behavior, Chiitan started appearing everywhere in the media.
Chiitan’s star dimmed somewhat after the city of Susaki, Kochi Prefecture, attempted to distance itself from the independent mascot, but this only gave Chiitan further encouragement. HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” featured the otter in one segment, crescendoing with the debut of the host’s own interpretation of the character. Suddenly, a whole new demographic knew about the otter.
Then everything took a turn. Twitter last week suspended Chiitan’s Japanese account @love2chiitan alongside a variety of handles in other countries. Chiitan’s English-language account @ogecebel immediately attempted to rally support by using memes, but it didn’t take long before its account was also suspended.