Which character was the official mascot of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held…

Concept — An official event mascot is a character formally designated by the organising body to represent that event. Olympic and Paralympic editions may use separate mascots even when the two characters share one visual family. When a postponed event retains its original brand year, the official event name and the actual staging year refer to the same edition.

Application — The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and held in 2021 without changing the Tokyo 2020 brand.

1. The Tokyo organising committee presented two related chequered characters as the Olympic and Paralympic mascots.

2. The blue character, Miraitowa, was designated for the Olympic Games; its name joins the Japanese words mirai (future) and towa (eternity).

3. The pink character, Someity, was designated for the Paralympic Games; its name draws on the Someiyoshino cherry cultivar and the phrase “so mighty”.

Cross-check and contrast — Each alternative can be tested against the event assignment recorded for the Tokyo mascot pair:

• Someity was the Paralympic member of the Tokyo 2020 mascot pair, not the Olympic member.

• Smoky is an English adjective, not the designated name of either Tokyo 2020 mascot.

• Red jaguar is a descriptive animal phrase, not the designated name of either Tokyo 2020 mascot.

• Miraitowa is the Tokyo 2020 character explicitly assigned to the Olympic Games.

Result — The official mascot of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held in 2021 was Miraitowa.