While this article at Bloomberg is ostensibly about the crossover between two fetishes: anime heroines and flashy automobiles, my curiosity was piqued by the subtext that the selection of Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso (dubbed ‘Rozen Aso’ because of his love of manga) has coaxed a number of Japan’s closeted otaku into the daylight.

Maurizio Raffone, a director at Dresdner Kleinwort (Japan) Ltd., feels the pain. “As an Italian, and a car guy, living in Japan, I have to say, I almost cried when I saw the photos” of manga-adorned cars, he said.

Prime Minister Aso, known among otaku as “Rozen Aso” because of his love of the comic book series “Rozen Maiden,” has held political rallies in Akihabara, Tokyo’s nerd center for Japanese anime, electronics and video games.

Aso returned to Akihabara on Oct. 26 to give a speech and appear on a talk show with cartoonists.

“I would like to tell all of you unabashed anime nerds out there that your subculture has spread throughout Asia as the window on Japan,” he said on an earlier visit in 2006.

Hate to say it, but if I were rich I’d make one terrible philanthropist - I’d be too busy spending my money on excessive crap like the Limited Edition Fiat 500 being produced to celebrate the famous thief’s long association with the vehicle, and more specifically the DVD release of Lupin III: Green vs. Red.

Seriously - starving kids vs. Lupin sports car ? Not a contest…

I tried to find images of the vehicle in question, but failed miserably - if I come across anything I’ll post it here post-haste.