Donald McDonald is no more as the world's biggest fast food change brings the name of its mascot character in Japan in line with the rest of the world.

In a post from October 2, McDonald's Japan announced the sudden change with a picture of a statue of the iconic clown and a caption that reads "From now on, call me Ronald." The statue is one that can be found at many stores across the country. Users were also quick to notice that all references to the character on the official website had been changed and some pages deleted.

Ever since McDonald's opened its first branch in Japan in 1971, its mascot character has been known as "Donald McDonald" instead of the English name "Ronald McDonald." This was apparently a localization decision taken by the founder of McDonald's Japan, Den Fujita, who thought that Donald would be easier to pronounce for Japanese people than Ronald. It has since stuck, although the fact that Japan has a different name is fairly common knowledge.

Given the long history of Donald, this begs the question of why make the change at all. Brand synergy across borders is obviously one motivation, but McDonald's Japan is notorious for producing viral content. Perhaps this could be just another bid for attention, or the beginning of a new campaign with the character at the center. The character is beloved enough in popular culture that he could carry something like that, for sure.