Japan has a great love for yuru-kyara, or yuru-characters (""gentle characters") in the form of mascots. So much that they hold an annual contest to determine the best new mascot out of all the regions in Japan. For marketing and popularity purposes, nearly all of these mascots are adorable in some way--even if they are made from the poop of Tokyo's beloved dog Hachiko, or are creepy fish monsters that get beaten up by baseball mascots.

One of Japan's latest mascots represents Ichijiku Pharmaceutical, and although she has a cute and inviting smile, you might think twice when reminded that the mascot is actually a giant cuddly enema (although the company will tell you she is a penguin--this happens with a lot of the odder Japanese mascots).

This penguin isn't fooling anyone, even though her enema cap is supposedly the penguin's hair accessory..

The anthropomorphic enema goes by the name of "Kan-chan", which is short for "Kanchou", the Japanese word for enema and perhaps what many already know as a notorious Japanese prank of inserting your fingers up a person's butt as a surprise attack (sorta like an enema!). Just a couple of days ago, Kan-chan came in like an enema, announcing her arrival on Twitter and her intent to "go to various places in the future." She has at least one known destination in the future, and it is rather devoid of sunlight.

Kan-chan follows in the footsteps of Ichijiku's Ichijikujira (Ichijiku + kujira, the Japanese word for "whale"), a happy-go-lucky whale who less subtly reminds us to let go of our bodily stress with enemas.

Kan-chan is happy to join a long list of Japanese mascots that manage to make us scratch our heads while admiring her cuteness.