Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics on Tuesday began accepting applications from the public on ideas for the games' official mascots.

The organizing committee held a countdown ceremony at an elementary school in Tokyo, where about 200 people, including pupils and Japan's Olympians and Paralympians, marked the beginning of the application period.

Japanese nationals and foreign residents can submit designs and profiles of mascots electronically until noon on Aug. 14, either individually or in groups of up to 10 people, but the representative applicant must be aged 18 or above as of April 1.

At Tuesday's event, four-time Olympic tennis player Ai Sugiyama and Paralympic shooter Aki Taguchi shared their experience of having competed in the games with the students.

"I think the Olympics were a great opportunity to make new tennis fans," Sugiyama said. "I was very pleased to see Japanese flags and Japanese people cheering for me...which are rare during tennis tournaments."

Three-time Paralympian Taguchi said, "I have memories of all of the mascots of the games that I took part in. The mascots cheered me up during the competition and they also boosted the excitement of the crowd."

A selection panel will come up with a shortlist of three or four candidate designs by early December, after the entries are screened and checked to make sure they do not violate trademark rights.

The winner will be chosen in a vote by elementary school classes across Japan from Dec. 11 to Jan. 19 and announced in February.

Ryohei Miyata, the panel's head who is also the commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, emphasized the role of elementary school students in the judging process.

"The mascots that all of you think is the best will become our official mascots," Miyata said. "I think it is you, not adults, who have a critical eye and can choose the best mascot."

The pupils expressed excitement to be able to have a say in the selection.

"The Olympics are held only once every four years, so I want to choose a mascot that will become popular among people," said 10-year-old Yuya Kagami. "I want the mascot to be something different but still be liked by many."

Daisuke Sato, 11, said, "Since the games are held in Tokyo, I think the mascots should have some element of Japan in them."

The winner of the competition will receive a 1 million yen ($9,000) prize and an invitation to the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.