9-year-old tabby Tama's job is to sit quietly by the entrance of Kishi Station in western Japan. She wears the formal black cap of the Wakayama Electric Railway and poses for photos. Tourists are now flocking in droves from across the nation to see the famous feline. Her appointment makes cultural sense in Japan, a nation where cats are considered good luck and are believed to boost ailing businesses. 
Tortoiseshell-coloured Tama was born from a stray cat brought to Kishi Station by a cleaner. She was originally kept by Toshiko Koyama, a local who runs a grocery store next door.

Kishi Station, a stop on the provincial Kishigawa Line, went unmanned in April 2006 as the line was losing money. But Tama stuck around. She rose to national stardom in January 2007 as the railway company formally appointed her as "stationmaster". Her appointment had an immediately positive effect, boosting the number of passengers using the line by 17 percent. The company rewarded her with the bonus of some extra cat food.
Deserved promotion 
Tama’s good work has continued through the first half of 2008. In fact, she has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled train line that she has now been promoted to the esteemed role of “super station master”. She is the only female in a managerial position in the company's 36-strong workforce. Thanks to her sterling work, Tama is set to appear in a French documentary film, being directed by Myriam Tonelotto, featuring some of the world’s most famous cats.