Written by TC Team
Everyone’s favorite penguin is retiring from Suica duty in March 2027, and JR East let the public pick who takes over. Three candidate characters were put to a worldwide online vote, which closed at 11:59 p.m. Japan time on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The winner will be unveiled on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, and the penguin makes its exit at the end of March 2027. Here’s what was on the ballot and what happens next.
The three candidates
JR East says the designs came from young creators chosen by a selection committee, working from ideas gathered from staff across the JR East group. The committee narrowed the field to three. They were labeled A, B, and C on the vote page, and the designers’ notes give a fair idea of what each one is going for.
A is a squirrel. They’re perhaps a bit difficult to see here, but the markings on its body form one unbroken line from head to tail tip, which the designer calls a railway, a nod to JR East connecting the country. Everything about it is rounded and soft, and the aim is a character that feels like a friend keeping you company.
B is a purple rabbit, ears up, listening. The purple is deliberate: it’s what you get when you mix the blue of “sui sui” (smooth and reassuring) with the red of “waku waku” (excitement). It’s meant to be the one that nudges you to give new things a try.
C is an orange creature of no particular species, and the designer says that vagueness is intentional. It carries a small mole in its pouch. The idea is that the mole has only ever seen the underground, so the orange one is taking it out to see the world, which is roughly what a Suica does for you.
How the vote worked
Voting ran from 3 p.m. on September 8 to 11:59 p.m. on September 23, 2026, on a Japanese-only vote page. There was no account to make and no email address to give: you picked A, B, or C, answered three quick questions about your age bracket, where you live (with an “overseas” option), and gender, and could leave a comment. It was one vote per person, and the rules said age, occupation, and nationality didn’t matter, so plenty of votes will have come from outside Japan.
JR East hasn’t published the vote counts, and says it won’t reveal the result until the unveiling.
What happens next
The dates to know, from JR East:
- November 18, 2026: the winning character is unveiled, on Suica’s 25th anniversary. JR East will also announce details of a public contest to give it a nickname.
- January 2027: the selection committee judges the nickname entries.
- March 31, 2027: the Suica penguin officially graduates, with a farewell event the same day.
- April 1, 2027: the new character takes over. *weeping*
Your existing penguin card keeps working after that. If you want one with the penguin’s face on it, though, move quickly: JR East stopped restocking the penguin design in August, and ticket machines are selling through what’s left. Our Suica guide has the current state of play on buying and topping up cards.
Source: JR East
While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change.
