Otaku-friendly right-wing politician Taro Aso has been elected Prime Minister of Japan. Whether this will result in new trade regulations prompting a tide of hentai and vinyl figures onto U.S. markets is unclear - but is a much-hoped for result, if you ask me.

Aso has also managed a rare feat among LDP members — he’s popular among the young. He’s an avid fan of “manga” comic books, and has spent years arguing that Japan should use its pop culture as a diplomatic tool.

Snap elections, however, would be a major gamble for the party, which is bleeding public support and facing widespread anger over mismanagement of pension funds and a general dissatisfaction with the status quo.

“This could be the beginning of the end of the LDP,” said Jiro Yamaguchi, a political scientist at Hokkaido University. “Aso cannot be another Koizumi. He has no clear policies — just look at his Cabinet lineup, which looks like he only invited his friends.”

MSNBC’s Sexploration column discusses the mainstreaming of otaku fetishism, of all things - although they neatly overstep the twin-headed viper that is yaoi / yuri (unlike us, who unceasingly stare into the abyss so that we may spare you the horrors within…).

Guess that would’ve really scared the curious onlookers peeking in from the safety of their cubicle farms.

When anime conventions started in the U.S. back in the mid-1990s, the main demographic was mostly Asian college-age male students, says 32-year-old otaku expert Lawrence Eng. “Now, at least 50 percent are female,” he says. “Fandom itself is more diverse than ever.”

Within the adult realm of otaku culture, cuteness is fetishized (hence the Hello Kitty sex toys) and gender is often bent or dissolves altogether. Women are penetrated by octopi and young women in short school-girl skirts save the world. Men, on the other hand, are often passive worshipers of small figurines depicting sexy characters.

I knew I was going to like ABC Family’s new show ‘The Middle Man‘ when the above line was uttered about two minutes in. Based on a graphic novel by ‘Lost‘ scripter Javier Grillo-Marxuach, ‘The Middle Man‘ is a veritable pop-culture feast. The humor is decidedly self-referential, and even when the jokes don’t work (and they fall flat about as often as they fly) the show’s heart is definitely in the right place. I mean - where else can you hear hentai references in American prime time?

Better yet, you don’t even have to have cable television to enjoy it - ABC Family is thoughtfully making the series available online.

Link to Episode 1