Doraemon assumes new role

Tokyo - Japan's beloved cartoon robo-cat Doraemon took on a new role on Wednesday as a charm ambassador in an attempt to promote the nation's culture and win the hearts of future world leaders.

Masahiko Komura, Japan's usually serious foreign minister, led an upbeat ceremony to appoint the character as Japan's first "anime ambassador" tasked with "making friends by travelling around the world."

In his acceptance speech, Doraemon - or at least a stuffed suit character - said he was eager to promote Japanese culture.

"Through my work, I will do my best to tell people in foreign countries about what Japanese think, how Japanese live and what kind of future the Japanese hope to make," Doraemon said, as Komura stood by stiffly.

Doraemon is the main character in one of Japan's most popular comic series, which has also become widely known in much of Asia since its book debut in 1969.

Created by a cartoonist under the pen name Fujiko Fujio, Doraemon is a friendly humanoid robot who looks like a blue-and-white cat with no ears.

In the story, Doraemon travels back to the present from the 22nd century to help out a weak-willed schoolboy with all sorts of futuristic gadgets, deposited inside a bottomless pocket on its belly.

Although his official diplomatic debut is yet to come, Doraemon seems to have won support at home.

Roughly three dozen photographers, television crew members and journalists showed up for the ceremony, held in the room where Komura meets flesh-and-blood foreign dignitaries.