Official Pokemon-Themed Disaster Response Vending Machines Are Being Deployed Across Japan

As reported previously, The Pokemon Company has been designating local Pokemon ambassadors and installing special Pokemon manhole covers across Japan as part of its ‘Pokemon Local Acts’ initiative to boost tourism across the country. Well, this initiative has now expanded to include another common fixture in Japanese daily life!

The Pokemon Company has officially announced the deployment of several Pokemon-themed disaster response vending machines across Japan – as part of a collaboration with vending company ITO EN. The vending machines feature designs based on their respective prefecture’s Pokemon ambassador (e.g. Geodude in Iwate prefecture), and each of them will also appear as Gyms in the mobile game Pokemon GO.

In the event of a natural disaster, these vending machines (along with others like them) are designed to dispense drinks freely to the population.

Here’s a closer look at each of their designs below, and their respective prefectures:

Hokkaido (Vulpix + Alolan Vulpix)

Iwate (Geodude)

Miyagi (Lapras)

Fukushima (Chansey)

Tottori (Sandshrew + Alolan Sandshrew)

Kagawa (Slowpoke)

Miyazaki (Exeggutor + Alolan Exeggutor)

What do you think? If you want to learn more details, you can find the official website for these vending machines over here.