Anime nerd to become Japan’s next prime minister | Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation

brewmasters
JERRY BECK bio & contact view posts by jerry		AMID AMIDI bio & contact view posts by amid

Anime nerd to become Japan’s next prime minister

September 14, 2007 3:00 am

From Thursday’s Wall Street Journal:

Score one for the nerds! Shares of Japanese companies involved in the production of animated films and comic books soared in Tokyo Wednesday amid speculation that Taro Aso, secretary-general of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party — and a well-known comic-book fan — may be the nation’s next prime minister. Following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s surprise resignation, shares linked to hobbies associated with “otaku,” or nerds, jumped.

In May, while serving as Japan’s foreign minister, Mr. Aso unveiled plans to establish the International Manga Award to recognize foreign cartoonists. When the winners were announced in July, Mr. Aso told Kyodo News, “It is my hope that manga, through these works, will act as a bridge to the world.” Mr. Aso’s official Web site contains an ode to “manga” published in August that praises the genre for lifting Japan’s standing on the international stage and urges his countrymen to be proud of this success.

Related Cartoon Brew Posts

Amitabh Bachchan For US Prime Minister

TV Guide on Prime Time Animation (1961)

Japan Media Arts Festival

Anime Tours

Anime Alert!

14 comments posted in Anime

« « Looney Tunes at S.F. Airport | Sugar Bear Scholarship » »

09/14/07 4:22am	John Paul Cassidy says:
	Sounds great!
09/14/07 5:41am	Danielle says:
	Shouldn’t the headline read “Manga nerd to become Japanâ€™s next prime minister”? Granted, a lot of anime is based on manga, but it sounds like Mr. Aso is more of a manga fan than an anime one ;)
09/14/07 6:17am	Marko Ajdaric says:
	I do not understand. Is he a nerd or a comic fan? both things are not the same
09/14/07 6:23am	GagaMan says:
	Oh god, does this mean the Lucky Star theme tune will become the national anthem? Help us all..
09/14/07 9:07am	Tim Drage says:
	Total world otakuizaton as predicted (caused?!) by Gainax is well underway.
09/14/07 10:21am	Robert says:
	If he does reach the pinnacles of power, I hope he does something about those weird anime walk cycles that always look like the character’s ankles are handcuffed together.
09/14/07 10:21am	akira says:
	sorry, he’s losing now.. maybe someone found his hentai collection?
09/14/07 11:11am	red pill junkie says:
	An Otaku Prime Minister? Great!! He should begin construction of a new Tokio 3 Geo Front, so we can be prepared for the arrival of the angels in 2014 ;-)
09/14/07 1:15pm	Some Hiro says:
	{{{(>.
09/14/07 4:45pm	Oliver says:
	Unfortunately, there’s plenty of manga that might be a bad idea for a Japanese Prime Minister to read — Yoshinori Kobayashi’s ultra-nationalist/historical revisionist works, for instance.
09/14/07 7:34pm	GhaleonQ says:
	But Oliver, how could the revivication of Japanese pride in its history hurt ANY…prime…min…is…Abe, we hardly knew you.
09/14/07 10:38pm	Chris Sobieniak says:
	> Total world otakuizaton as predicted (caused?!) by Gainax is well underway. It may not be too long before Tokyo Otakuland gets built! :-)
09/15/07 12:58am	c.tower says:
	Will he have a Superdeformed Chibi Prime minister sidekick?
09/15/07 9:00am	Billy Bon says:
	As an anime/manga fan, I have to be territorial and defend my hobby as a whole but, Japan needs to figure out better PR if they wanna talk to other countries. I love anime but few people in the west really care about it, and most of it is junk food anyways (this comming from an ardent fan). Aso better find better substance, or at least be very very choosy about which manga he want’s to endorse.

Write a comment.
Name: (required) Email: (required) (will not be shared) Website:
Comment: