Nipponia the Bear

Nipponia is a bear made exclusively for Japan, and her name comes from Nippon, the Japanese word for Japan, with "ia" added onto the end. Ty announced her on 6 September 2000 at the International Tokyo Gift Show.

The flag on her chest is Japan's national flag, known as Nisshoki or Hinomaru, the rising sun disc that was adopted as the country's flag in 1870. The red circle represents the sun.

Some Japanese retail stores sold Nipponia in a special gift box that included two wash cloths.