The mascot of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 is to be unveiled in 2018. Proposals for the mascot’s design can be submitted by anyone of the general public. But the choice of its name will be left to professionals, in particular copywriters and jurists. The organizing committee explained that this decision is due to the complexity of an international trademark registration being too difficult for the layperson. In 2015 the Games’ logo faced allegations of plagiarism and was consequently replaced, possibly leading the committee to now err on the side of caution. “We discussed the possibility of asking the public about the name of the mascot. But as you know, it’s a much tougher task (than the design) when it involves trademark rights,” said the panel’s vice chairman, Yoshiko Ikoma.