Our Prime Mister Aso "Rozen" Taro is well known as a manga lover. He doesn't hesitate to say he likes manga and actually he seems to act like an otaku. It may be to get support from Akiba-kei. He also tries to convey that he has the common touch to people, but it completely failed. Good samples were these: he said the instant ramen costs around 400yen in an interview, but usually it's about 100yen, we hardly find such expensive ones. We could guess he doesn't eat such foods or at least he doesn't know the price of commodities. Another time, he said he enjoyed "stewed Hokke" (it's a cheap fish) in reasonable izakayas with his friends in school days. But we can't eat stewed Hokke; grilled is the only way to eat Hokke. So people guess he had never been to such cheap izakaya. You know, he can't hide this aristocratic background and he will never be an ordinary person. Recently it's a hot topic that he can't read Kanji correctly. (I hope he knows Africa is not country)
By the way, Hayao Miyazaki had a press conference at FCCJ. In the conference, he was asked what did he think when Aso Taro clearly said he likes manga and acts like an otaku. Miyazaki replied like this, "It is shameful, he should do that behind the curtain, no need to tell it in public". Miyazaki's remark arouses criticism in the Internet now. Some support him and some are against him. They made a point, "Miyazaki also doesn't hide his Loli-con taste in movies." (Ha ha, I agree.) Recently "otaku" is not so bad a word or too bad an image in Japan, so Miyazaki's remark shocked people because Miyazaki is one of the persons who caused the occurrence of Otakus in this world by animation.
I sort of agree with Miyazaki-sama. The way Aso does it feels like a cheap way to get the support of Akiba-kei. And if he really is such an otaku . . . personally, I wouldn't be so proud of it especially if I was as high ranking as him.
Posted by: Anonymous | Monday, November 24, 2008 at 09:45 AM
LOL... seems that Aso-san is funny and crazy... just like Italian politicians! :-(
Posted by: Marco Bresciani (マルコ·ブレシャ−二) | Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 06:49 AM
Good thing there's no requirement for a politician to be a genius.
I'm kind of not surprised about Miyazaki's comments. Since he directs his movies towards the mainstream audience, he's always seemed to have been anti-otaku.
Posted by: gamenwatch | Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 06:48 AM
When Obama says that he visited 57 United States and Bidens says how Rusevelt went on TV in 1929, it's a-ok. The humanity!
Posted by: Author | Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 12:57 PM