Musk, come to the Shiba Inu's hometown"...Japanese local governments in a 'lineage' attraction battle

"Musk, come to the Shiba Inu's hometown"...Japanese local governments in a 'lineage' attraction battle

Promoting a connection with the ancestral dog 'Ishigou'...Mayor participates as advisor to the promotion headquarters, utilizing AI videos

Unique efforts by Japanese local governments to secure a visit from Elon Musk, the world's richest man and CEO of SpaceX, are drawing attention.

It's a form of 'emotional marketing' that highlights the connection that the origin of Musk's pet dog, the 'Shiba Inu,' is their region.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 23rd, economic organization officials in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, recently launched the 'Musk Invitation Promotion Headquarters' and began full-scale promotional activities.

Musk is a dog lover who frequently posts photos of his Shiba Inu 'Floki' on social media X (formerly Twitter).

According to the Japan Kennel Club (Nihonken Hozonkai), the ancestor of the Shiba Inu is said to be 'Ishigo,' a 'Sekishu Inu' (石州犬) from Masuda City whose lineage was registered in 1936. The Sekishu Inu is a breed of dog raised in the Shimane and Yamaguchi prefectures.

The promotion headquarters is a public-private partnership, with Keiji Sasaki, chairman of the Mitocho Special Products and Tourism Association of Masuda City, serving as the head, and Hiroaki Yamamoto, Mayor of Masuda, serving as an advisor.

Mayor Yamamoto said, "We will raise the welcoming atmosphere at the citizen level and cooperate with related organizations to prepare thoroughly to welcome Musk."

Since July, they have been posting messages requesting Musk to visit Masuda City and images related to the origin of the Shiba Inu on the tourism association's official X account about five times a week.

They also created and shared moving video content of Shiba Inu photos using 'Grok,' developed by Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI.

Headquarters chief Sasaki met with the representative of X Japan in Tokyo to convey this intention and is promoting a plan for Musk to land at the local airport on a private jet and visit the 'Ishigo Memorial Hall' and other sites.

An official from the promotion headquarters said, "While a business approach might be difficult, a story related to a pet dog could elicit a different response," adding, "We want to give hope to the local youth."