Japan appoints cartoon cat named Doraemon as ambassador to promote animation

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This article was published 19/03/2008 (6456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO – Japan has created an unusual government post to promote animation, and named a perfect figure to the position: a popular cartoon robot cat named Doraemon.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura appointed the cat as “anime ambassador” at an inauguration ceremony Wednesday.

Komura handed a human-sized Doraemon doll an official ambassador’s certificate, along with dozens of “dorayaki” red bean pancakes – his favourite dessert – piled on a huge plate.

Komura told the doll, with a voice actress inside, that he hoped he would widely promote Japanese animated cartoons, or “anime.”

The appointment is part of Japan’s recent effort to harness the power of pop culture in diplomacy. Japan created an International Manga Award last year under comic book enthusiast and former foreign minister Taro Aso, who likened it to a “Nobel Prize” for an artist working abroad.

Manga, the name used for Japanese-style comic books, often combine complex stories with drawing styles that differ from their overseas superhero counterparts, particularly in their emphasis on cuteness.

“Doraemon, I hope you will travel around the world as an anime ambassador to deepen people’s understanding of Japan so they will become friends with Japan,” Komura told the blue-and-white cat.

This year, the ministry plans to arrange showings of a Doraemon film in Singapore, China, Spain, France, and at other Japanese diplomatic missions around the world.

Created by cartoonist Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemon is a Japanese cultural icon and is popular around the world, especially in Asia. The robotic cat travels back in time from the 22nd century and uses gadgets such as a “time machine” and an “anywhere door” that come out of a fourth-dimensional pocket on his stomach to help his friends, allowing them to travel anywhere and to any time they wish.

Astro Boy, another cartoon icon, was named last November as ambassador for overseas safety.