Fat cat gets paw in the Kremlin door
01 December, 2008, 04:43
The popular Japanese manga and anime character, Doraemon, could have a diplomatic role in relations between Moscow and Tokyo. The fat, blue time-travelling robotic cat already has one paw in the Kremlin door – President Dmitry Medvedev’s son, Ilya, is a devoted fan.
Doraemon's rise to stardom started almost 40 years ago in 1969, and since then he has won the hearts of millions of children in Japan and across the world.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry appointed him 'Anime Ambassador' in March 2008 to mark Doraemon's achievements in promoting national culture abroad.
Ilya Medvedev’s affection for the cat was revealed to Japanese diplomats during the G8 summit in Hokkaido this summer, Russian newspaper Komersant reports.
Prime Minister Taro Aso, a well-know manga fan himself, is reportedly negotiating with the owners of the franchise to introduce a new character that would be based on Ilya's real-life cat, Dorofey – a Neva Masquerade variety, bred in St Petersburg.
So far the talks have stalled, but the prime minister presented Medvedev junior with a flying Doraemon toy during the APEC summit in Lima last week.
While Doraemon is busy sorting out high diplomacy issues, RT's own enthusiastic manga artist Chalov-san presents his view of how the presidential cat might look in manga form.
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