Whether it is a dream come true or a nightmare one year in the making, Taro Aso is now officially the prime minister of Japan. A self-professed otaku who is a fan of Rozen Maiden, Rozen Aso, as he is affectionately known as, is a right-wing LDP politician with a history of offending various groups of people with his forthright comments. On one hand, this is probably not good news for those concerned about Japan’s fragile relations with its somewhat hostile neighbours, but on the other hand, he might just fill his cabinet with loli wind-up dolls! (Okay probably not.)

Ever since Fukuda resigned with his infamous “I am not like you bastards!” farewell, Rozen Aso has been the leading favourite to take over as head honcho. In anticipation of this, otaku-related stocks have reached sky-high level and will probably continue rising tomorrow when the markets open.

In any case, things should get interesting.

[ Source: AFP ]

Rozen Maiden + Taro Aso = Rozen Aso

The most likely candidate is Taro Aso (麻生太郎), AKA Rozen Aso, the secretary general of LDP and foreign minister in Abe’s cabinet. Mr. Aso is probably the most well-known politician among the 2ch and Akiba crowd because of his nickname which he got after he was once seen reading a volume of Rozen Maiden at an airport book store. He professes to be a dedicated manga fan and his favourite works include Golgo 13, Nodame Cantible and Kochikame. He gave a speech at Akihabara during the 2006 elections campaign and drew a large crowd (YouTube video). In his speech, he addressed the otaku population directly and spoke on manga-related topics and the soft power of Japanese pop culture.

LDP will be carrying out internal voting on the 19th. If Rozen Aso does take over, he does not need to call for a general election until 2009. However, it is likely that he will be forced by the opposition to call for one within the next few months, and it will be hard to say if LDP’s current reputation can carry the embattled ruling party through.

Still, the first step towards possible otaku world domination?

[ Sources: Wikipedia | IHT | 日テレNEWS24 ]

EDIT: According to this new-akiba article linked by don777, anime and game related stocks rose sharply today, in particularly Broccoli‘s share value has reached “ridiculous levels”.