KEY POINTS:
Tokyo - Women in breastplates, men with swords, and blond vampires walked the staid halls of Japan's Foreign Ministry this week.
They were fans of anime and manga comics gathering for an international Cosplay Summit, part of Tokyo's efforts to raise its world profile and promote a "Cool Japan" as admirers of its pop culture increase rapidly.
"Manga is an international language," said Michio Oguri, the chairman of the fifth annual event, being held in the central Japanese city of Nagoya this weekend.
Cosplay - a combination of the words "costume" and "play" - originated in Japan. In cosplay, people dress mainly as characters from Japanese anime, as well as graphic manga novels and video games.
Cosplay fans gather at a growing number of festivals around the world to show off their elaborate costumes, products of hours of work, and enjoy their shared passion.
Some, such as Brazilian contestant Marcello Batista de Andredo Fernandez, wear coloured contact lenses to give their eyes an otherworldly glow.
"I love anime," said Alejandra Rodriguez Rivera, 18, from Mexico who wore a flamboyant kimono and parasol as part of her costume.
"Becoming an anime character is like being in a dream."
Contests give enthusiasts a chance to act as their characters, as soloists or in pairs.
This year, 14 pairs from 12 countries - including Denmark, France, Brazil and Thailand - won hard-fought preliminary rounds to win tickets to Japan.
"Until about five years ago, people in Denmark didn't know manga or anime," said Marie Mortensen, 26, a designer with vampire fangs who wore harem pants and a blond wig.
"But that's changed. Now manga are the best-selling comics."
Japan's Foreign Ministry is one of the contest's sponsors.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso is such an avid manga fan that he reads comics in the back of his official car between appointments.
He was away at a meeting of Asian foreign ministers in Manila, so his deputy, Katsuhito Asano, got the job of welcoming five cosplay teams making an official visit to the ministry.
"My boss is a total manga geek. He must be sorry to miss this," he said.
And with a wry smile, he added: "When we talk about serious foreign policy, we don't get this kind of media response."
- Reuters
