AT LAST, A FRESH FACE

The traditionally Jurassic government of Japan today took a babystep closer to reality by appointing a famous cartoon character Anime Ambassador to the world. At last: an actually qualified, purposefully comic character from after the ice age.

It's such an oddly good move for the Pleistocene group, that it arouses my suspicion (the playful side of the LDP??).

Doraemon has absolutely no nationalistic agenda (and if asked, would no doubt come out against the killing of whales and reparations for Comfort Women, for example), so I doubt if he'll be allowed an uncontrolled press conference any time soon.

He stands smilingly bold and blue, this rotund time traveler with his pocketful of save-the-day gadgets (they could use a few), and at great distance - in terms of credibility and rationality - from such primeval party voices as those of Taro Aso, Ishihara Shintaro and so many others of the tarpit faction.

But at the very least, manga/anime star and dorayaki lover Doraemon may get some ambassadorial results, and possibly offset some of the usual embarrassment, even make the LDP seem cute for a short time, like a baby brontosaurus.