The city of Higashine in Japan is currently finishing the construction of a new elementary school, and decided to name the building after their prefecture’s famed cherries, which can sell for $30 a pound. Unfortunately for them, Higashine Shiritsu Sakuranbo Shougakkou (Higashine Municipal Cherry Elementary School) shares 75% of its words with Shiritsu Sakuranbo Shougakkou, a “doujin adult game brand.”According to Kotaku:
Put the school’s name さくらんぼ小学校 in Google, and there are links to questionable illustrations of underage children right up there at the top.
Unfortunately, the parents of children at Higashine Shiritsu Sakuranbo Shougakkou might want to get used to it.
The city’s mayor has said that the school’s name will not be changed. “If we change the name,” the mayor said, “that will justify this adult world all the more.”
Who would have thought that naming something in Japan after cherries would get confusing?
Update: The mayor has since decided to change the name of the school.
(via Kotaku)
