Tarou Asou was chosen by the Liberal Democratic Party Monday to become its party president. Due to the ruling party in Japan choosing him, it’s mostly likely that he will indeed become the next prime minister. The 68 year old is a former foreign minister and has professed himself a manga fan. During his time as foreign minister he used manga such as Detective Conan and Barefoot Gen to relay his message.
Manga sales have been up since the beginning of his candidacy. A store in Akihabara (Akihabara is known as an otaku shopping haven and where Asou rallied against his former opponent ex-Prime Minister Fukuda), has even called Asou a “cool old dude” in English lettering.
For more information: ANN.
