your monkey called

Peter writes, “It’s well know that Aso-san is a fan of Japan’s manga and anime culture, which has helped him attain popularity among younger Japanese, especially among 2channelers and the English anime-related blogosphere. He supposedly reads three volumes of manga a day, sometimes on the Diet floor, and much of the recent recognition of the importance of Japanese popular culture have come from Aso-san, who has said he would like to create an international “Nobel Prize” for manga. His interest in comics — for example, he promoted education about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima using the famous manga story Hadashi no Gen(Barefoot Gen) — has caused the term “Manga Diplomacy” to be coined, and it will be interesting to see how his ability to name all the Lucky Star characters will color his leadership.”