Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda’s resurfaced social media posts have been going viral in recent weeks. In them, she declares her exclusive love for 2D male characters.
“‘Get married early’ and ‘have children;’ I’ve been told this by voters since I was in my 20s, but it makes me sigh that I’m still being told this at 40. I wonder at what age I’ll stop being told this. In the 3D world, I’m married to the country, and I’ve said that in my private life, I only focus on 2D!! I’ll say it again and again: I only focus on 2D!!” a translated post of Onoda’s from 2022 reads.
Prediction: Japan's birthrate is about to skyrocket!
In 1D
If you procreate with a 2D lover is your kid born like the DuckTales Remastered game where like the backgrounds are 3D but the foreground characters are 2D?
Having put this thought to words, in not sure how that would actually work. Is it like those old puffy stickers that were popular in the 80s? Is that where Parappa the Rapper's universe comes from?
Procreate with 2D lover
Paper cuts in special places
Thanks, I'm deleting Reddit now
DuckTales remastered was fun, but it made me appreciate the original more. The remaster had too much going on, kind of cluttered up the screen. The new levels were interesting though.
I get it, you want a 2D Magica De Spell girlfriend, not a 3D one
This is how Paper Mario was created.
Yikes!
It does look like DuckTales Remastered counts as 2.5D. Other titles would include Doom (sprites, technically-2D level layout), Keen Dreams (parallax scrolling, I think some pseudo-3D elements).
It only takes 1D
Between this and “eliminating work-life balance”, not sure if this government is sending the right message…
It’s sending the ultra right message
I thought I was looking at r/shitposting
Or the onion
Well, that certainly explains why the Onion can’t really make good satire anymore…
I feel her upbringing really messed her up, apparently her mother told her the reason she married her father and had kids with him wasn't that she was in love with him but rather he had really good DNA, good teeth, high IQ and was tall..... that might have been her rationalization to protect herself from his betrayal but man....what a weird thing to tell your kid.
Edit: source https://x.com/onoda_kimi/status/1316199264431661056
It's such a common origin story for villains in manga and movies. "You were bred to be/born to be/meant to be the perfect ___!"
Am I only a copy? Nothing, but Mew's shadow?
I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth is relevant. It is your genetics that determines who you are.
I was meant to be the dragon warrior!
Straight up MHA Endeavor vibes
A lot of my older Japanese friends love to talk about good DNA and related topics.. Not really weird among the older Japanese.
Yeah this isn't weird at all in Japan. Marriages are far more utilitarian than in the west.
I'm sorry, but isn't this just eugenics?
Close but no. It’s more like them being superficial and uneducated about genetics and health topics. But still using that vocabulary to describe their marriage choices.
They could also have said “I want a wife with good teeth” or “I want a man with this blood type” or “I want to have blond children”. Kinda dumb in practice
This. Genetics is so strange and random that there's no real point in trying to maximize the probabilities of desirable outcomes beyond the normal rules of attraction. A person could procreate with another person who is 6'2, beautiful, has blonde hair, and a PhD in physics; all for the child to come out 5'6 with black hair and face like a fist.
To that point, I think Onoda's mom's gambit was kind of a miss because her daughter isn't really a looker by Western or Japanese standards, and she might be a grifter...
If she's the woman in the picture then i'd say she is conventionally attractive
That's her, but that's a professional photo with a possible filter effect applied. In other photos, she looks very... plain, I guess.
Idk. Maybe I'm being too choosy.
I just think it's ironic how her mom chose her dad because of his looks — amongst other things — and she came out kind of mid. That said, she worked her way into a powerful position in the government, so her mom's plan did work to a degree.
I just looked up some more photos of her and yeah the one in this post is a bit different from how she actually looks
Eugenics is institutional and coercive. This is just preferences.
They got baumkuchen, blood type obsession, and a curious love of marching from the same source
Medical and sign language came from them too, actually.
人種改良
no lol. theres a reason you dont have kids with ur cousin and its not eugenics.
Nope, you have no idea what eugenics is.
no lol, its coded into our DNA and instincts to want our offspring to have good genetics, have a higher chance of survival.
Eugenics has roots in racism and breeding out less desirable traits in humanity.
Holy shit its legit
Super common in Japan and uhh the rest of the world. You pick your partner based on their looks and earning potential.
and yet this "perfect" white partner apparently abandoned the family, but i trust no right wing grifter or hypocrite. what kind of mom tells that to her kids? and kimi-chan isn't some sparkling diamond
I mean, they did produce a daughter that became state minister for economic security, so.. 大成功?
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science...
We do what we must
Because we can
If she doesn't have kids herself, it would be a 大失敗, I assume.
大成功 means “huge success” if you weren’t sure of the English
But you have to say it with Borat's accent.
ダイセイコウ
Yes it translates as “huge success” but you see, in Japanese culture it means so much more in a way us westerners cannot quite express with our shallow, dualist words. You need a bit of ikigai to truly understand.
Don't forget it's also somehow wabi-sabi and mono no aware, which a Western brain cannot understand because of nihonjinron. It's all shikata ga nai.
So her mom is the textbook case of the infamous "gaijin hunter"?
this is pretty common in japan lol
When I went through the miserable experience of dating apps, one of the women I talked to mentioned that she had not decided whether she wanted to have kids or not. I asked her about it, since I wrote that I did not want any.
Paraphrasing her response: "Well, I thought that I may feel like I like the genes of the man and would like to keep them.". I do not remember what I answered, but it was probably a "sou desu ne" with a nervous laugh.
Bro, why would she tell the world this, true or not 😭
Literally onizuka
Uh from the Japanese folks I know, this is normal. Marriage is for procreation . You find love~ afterwards
No wonder birth rates are in free fall especially in a society leaving so little space for anything but work
That explains why she is a fucked up incel with a hate boner for other foreigners. Mommy was psycho.
Explains a whole lot.
“His betrayal” as far as we know from her and her mother. Nobody asked the father.
Yeah. Mom is very clearly a nutzo "gaijin hunter" and they're known for using Japanese lawfare to keep the dad away from the kid.
I wouldn't believe a single word that they say about the father unless it's confirmed by witnesses. Crazy cant be trusted.
Well, he's free to come forward.
Of course, it'd be awkward if he's asked to prove if he was paying child support and he didn't.
Tf that sounds like MHA Endeavour's eugenic bs
So she is a reverse endeavor from MHA
We use this principle to catle. Japan use the same principle to humans and they are not ashamed. Treat humans like reproductive catle.
It worked so well it turned her anti foreigner lmao
Very Japanese solution to the current problems in society:
現実逃避
Doesn’t the entire world do this teehee ( •ᴗ• )
People can have waifu. She is allowed to have her husbando. #Equality
I recognize a lesbian from miles and let me tell you...
Homie got that all weather GAYWACS
Gryphus 1, dyke detected in 10 klicks 20 degrees, prepare to engage
100% lesbian, but also 100% in denial publicly.
Its Japan. You take that sorta thing to your grave.
I've always found this dynamic to be interesting: public opinion polling shows that the average Japanese person is very supportive of LGBT rights, but queer Japanese people are always very private about it, even relative to how private Japanese people tend to be with their relationships in general.
That's probably because popular support doesn't necessarily help you if you're getting discriminated at work or in academia. In a perfect world the population would rise up, but that's not very likely in modern Japan. You'll get abused and you'll have to take it.
Just recently, one of my college senpais in EU told me to avoid writing any papers in school about LGBT and Japan because they'd complicate any job or study opportunities in Japan in the future. That all the official channels would rather not interact with anyone that publicly engages in such things. Advised me to get my degrees and connections with conventional topics first, get comfortable in Japan, and only then consider publicly exploring LGBT stuff.
It's messed up, but that's reality. It's gonna take a good while until deeper systemic changes go through in Japan, especially in official channels.
I don't think she's in denial. Making very pointed statements about 2D love and not being on any side of the gay marriage agenda tells me she knows exactly what's she's doing.
I was gonna say, isn't she anti-lgbt? Feels a little hypocritical.
She would not be the first one. Some of the most impactful anti-women rights activists and politicians were women. Being part of a marginalized group doesn’t stop their ability to attack that same group once they become part of the leadership
The leader of the German far right party (AFD) is a lesbian woman who lives in Switzerland with her Sri Lankan wife and kids.
That would fit even more.
Plenty of internalized hatred among marginalized groups. It's pick me behavior. It's trying to tell the overlords "I'm one of the good ones."
Same here. I'm saying this as a lesbian myself.
I have a lesbian friend and she said the same about her
How do you know she is not just asexual?
This!
I feel like ace or recovering trauma victim also would yield similar statements.
Like some people use 2d to run away from reality, but like some also use it to help them to recover from assault or harassment.
Like after my own trauma, I found that playing games where 2d guys were all super nice to the player were really helpful for recovery and helping me to trust again instead of being holed up at home and fearful of the world. I don't really play them anymore, but they were really helpful at quieting down that hypervigilance mode immediately after the trauma. It's like super safe re-socialization and I felt like I could talk to and approach people I met IRL more comfortably.
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That was my first thought
As a bisexual hafu to me she reads as lesbian as well
I kinda see what you mean but I cannot explain why haha
join any anime convention or art convention community and I swear, every girl there who only reserves affection for anime boys is either lesbian, asexual or both
As a male man, it would be forbidden for me to visit the Isle of Lesbos.
Given that, are you saying that her preferred reading material is probably not The Fist of the North Star?
Revolutionary Girl Utena might be a different story.
lol this definitely made me think of all the girls I know with a 2D boy obsession who eventually came out as lesbian and/or ace
"I like 2D!"
"And I know what you are."
So this is too much repressed love
is that sherlock
Looks like it to me.
She's got good taste in 2D men.
It's a totally fake reason, but her feelings about 2D men are valid.
I'm guessing either she's a lesbian or asexual or she likes foreign men
Her hate for foreigners is stemming from her foreign national deadbeat dad.
she might have daddy issues but foreign men might not be on her platter.
Yeah I'm guessing it's less likely to be that one. She'd just never admit to it as it would politically bad for her if she were
She probably just needs a hug lol
From what I’ve read, we’re only hearing her mother‘s side of the story, so we don’t actually know if her dad‘s a dead beat or not.
I mean, because, Japanese woman never lie about their situation was their husbands. /s
I thought she wasn't being serious.
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I always see this take, and find it totally bizarre. Like, you think all those hikkikomori making love to their dakimakura would totally be out breeding like rabbits if they turned off the anime?
Declining birth rate has nothing to do with otaku, and everything to do with economic disincentives.
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It's not because the Japanese economy is bad - most bad economies have plenty of population growth - it's because Japanese institutions make raising children very expensive and difficult, doesn't give nearly enough free time to teenagers and young adults to develop a healthy personal life (at least not without devestating career damage), and Japanese culture blames everyone involved personally for not living up to impossible standards. The economic disincentives that prevent raising children are personal and separate from national economy.
If everybody in Japan stopped working more than 36 hours per week, the population deficit would be solved. As seen in 4 day workweek trials, the economy probably wouldn't even suffer because everybody could get a good night's sleep and actually be productive.
Economic pressures in highly developed countries has a different effect on child birth than less developed countries. One is the considerably higher cost of childcare and another is the higher expectations people have for their children.
This is not just a Japanese issue, it’s happened all over the developed world which is why birth rates declining across the globe. This is true even in wealthy countries with highly rated work-life balances. You only see high rates in very poor countries where people have very low expectations for decent living standards for themselves or their children. People just have loads of children because they don’t see any other options for themselves.
I think every country with low birth rates have their own cultural reasons for low birth rates but all those reasons share the commonality that it’s very convenient for people to not have children nowadays. People have more choice and higher standards for what requirements needs to be met before starting a family. Macroeconomic trends worsening for the middle class across the globe doesn’t help either.
It’s funny because Japanese high school life is one of the most romanticized internationally. Perhaps it is only portrayed so idyllically in comparison to the grind of working life.
Economic pressures in highly developed countries has a different effect on child birth than less developed countries. One is the considerably higher cost of childcare and another is the higher expectations people have for their children.
This is not just a Japanese issue, it’s happened all over the developed world which is why birth rates declining across the globe. This is true even in wealthy countries with highly rated work-life balances. You only see high rates in very poor countries where people have very low expectations for decent living standards for themselves or their children. People just have loads of children because they don’t see any other options for themselves.
I think every country with low birth rates have their own cultural reasons for low birth rates but all those reasons share the commonality that it’s very convenient for people to not have children nowadays. People have more choice and higher standards for what requirements needs to be met before starting a family. Macroeconomic trends worsening for the middle class across the globe doesn’t help either.
Can you tell me among the countries that incentives children, which has a mythical high birthrate or at least isn't slowly declining?
Don't this as a statement about the incentives not helping or that somehow otaku/etc ARE to blame (they aren't - I mean train otaku always have like 5+ kids, its clearly not inherent to the otaku lifestyle.)
(Just my theory crafting here.) The problem SEEMS to be that human reproductive desire isn't really to reproduce and is much more of a social construct that obviously served us quite well, but we seem to have worked it out. (What large mammal has 8 billion population? Even with pigs, there's a billion because humans forced them.)
>you think all those hikkikomori making love to their dakimakura would totally be out humping like rabbits if they turned off the anime?
literally yes, normalizing otaku culture has been a complete and total disaster for japan both domestically and abroad. even as late as the 90s otakuism was considered fringe and sketchy as hell, on par with other forms of pathological addicts(gambling, porn, alcohol), with the public perception becoming worse with the Miyazaki Otaku Murder case.
otaku aren't "disney adults: Japan!" or "soy reddit people" or "chuds" or whatever the average western perception of weebs is now - they're fanatics who abandon normal life in order to fuel a pathological obsession with media.
de-normalizing this culture would unironically help the birthrate, especially since it's pretty much the only subculture that's a total romantic dead-end and pretty much every other japanese subculture has some kinda dating scene attached to it.
otakuism and the pay-to-play affection economy(kyaba/host(ess)/maid industry) genuinely needs to go the way of the dinosaur if japan wants to lock in and up their birthrate
(although personal opinion - kyaba are mostly fine since they aren't just totally oneshotting people)
Obviously these things don't help with the low birthrates problem. But correlation doesn't mean causation. Blaming otaku culture instead of the economy is just weird. South Korea or EU have birthrates as low as (or lower than) Japan's without having an 'otaku' problem. If people in countries with totally different social habits are also stopping having kids, the common denominator isn't otaku culture, it's the global economic reality of high housing costs, stagnant wages, and demanding work cultures. Taking away someone's hobby doesn't suddenly make a house or a child affordable. They just live without kids and spend their time with other hobbies
I’d say it’s a stretch to call it normalised. In general Japanese society, hikkikomori or (at a lesser extreme) otaku are considered pretty bimyou (strange) by your average Japanese. Nobody outside of the subculture is lionising this as a viable approach to life.
UNBELIEVABLY based
see, this is what we're talking about when we say we want politicians that really represent their constituents
Reminds me of that woman that had a wedding with her AI boyfriend
It's a trashy topic aimed at those devoid of critical thinking, who swallow politicians' nonsense whole and remain blissfully indifferent to the fact that the OP is none other than Tokyo Weekender.
Now thats the sort of Otaku I want running the finance dept.
I feel better knowing I'm not the only one
Queen! #多様性
Both her and Takaichi don’t have kids so I don’t know why Japanese people think they will help with the birth crisis
tidy public upbeat fuzzy march cows person cheerful groovy shaggy
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
Declaring she is an otaku to conservative Japan.
How is this news?
She doesn't want kids and likes manga.
Who the fuck cares?
I knew it shes a dweeb herself
That' part of her PR.
Hell I can respect that, lots of actual men suck and I say that as a man.
Lots of actual people suck all around.
What about 3D anime models?
1d man is superior
So it’s fine when men do it?
Based
“I only focus on 2D.” She’s exactly like me, fr fr. 🥲
I mean, as long as she’s also not telling people to have kids and save the birth rate, then that’s fine? Being an otaku is one thing, but being a hypocrite is something that shouldn’t slide with people (that unfortunately does in many parts of the world).
I don’t see a problem with this, you do you girl.
Great. We have a femcel for minister.
Well Japan seems to be full of men that love the "2D" only , why would a lot of the women be different?
At least now we know they don't care about the birth rate and will continue to focus on finding trouble with China because of Taiwan and, the Immigration, that I am sure is causing all Japan's economic problems and, finally... they don't have any cultural/social issues, that is not why so many people are interested in only 2D characters, I am sure the high pressure, bullying and abusive school and work culture are not an issue either /s
Nerd!!!!!
I support Minister Onoda.
The only reason this surfaces now is due to peoples dislike of how she handled a few situations. There is a difference between someones private life and public life. Judge her on her job performance not scandalize. Besides, it is becoming increasingly common thing to be romantic with 2d or ai. Do I think she could do better? I do, but the topic of her 2d romance is rude to bring up.
That strikes me as a VN junkie that will attend an 'Eyes Wide Shut' style masked gathering once a year to mark her pseudo relationship anniversary.
Least blatant vote-farming from otaku conservative idiots, just like Aso Taro did long time ago
"I’m married to the country"
SK president said this and is now in prison.
She's into mutants.
They said that perfection was impossible smh
Who cares ?
Yes me too, I have my own husbands and wives, in 2D.
You could never get that info out of me.
Good for her
Another daddy issue femcel lmao
Ministers having 2d boyfriends.... sure the problem of birthrate in Japan will NEVER be understood (properly) or address by them!
They’re pushing all the buttons for popularity huh
One of us!
Asexuality is a thing. Something like 1% of the population is asexual I believe? Live and let live.
She's like me fr!
🤣 based
Although I don’t see deviants like her solving the birthrate crisis anytime soon.
cannot argue with her, have you seen Reze or Makima? damn.
So Japan has a Fencel as minister?
This woman should start the ”akihabara party” and try to bring the old akihabara back. Maybe that’s her real calling because a high up politician she is not. Even by Japanese standards.
"The possibility of getting married feels so utterly creepy to me"
For active women in Japan, there is everything to lose to get married.
Fictosexuality and fictoromanticism are real, valid sexual/romantic orientations that nevertheless tend to face large amounts of ridicule and lack of understanding/sympathy, even from members of other minority orientations.
I find it so stupid how people get on her or people like her who only prefer 2D Truly who do they hurt?? It’s so cringe to point and laugh at someone vibing in their own way of life. Not everyone wants a family of lover. It is plain and simple as that. Just because some people do doesn’t devalue those who do not. It’s just a choice like any other.
This lady is very obviously a lesbun. Let her love her feminine 2D men in peace.
Birth rates in the toilet but you go girlie!!
A rare Japanese government W
Sounds like a PR stunt. Doesn't she brand herself as an otaku?
She could be lurking here as we speak.
I’ve got good news for you.
I wonder how many people know that she had a total hysterectomy at a young age due to illness? Her comments like this were influenced by her experience with illness rather than her sexuality, I guessed.
2D sidescroller is superior
Fujoshi??
Have you ever seen the low budget sci-fi political thriller Flatland from 2007? It's pretty good.
Ha!
I can lay kinda flat and think about heavy things. No ....
Delusion without Borders
So she's gooning to stuff just like the majority?
Quelle surprise.
Extreme nerd
Crap! I only have the 1 D.
i swear the new Japanese admin is designed for one reason: gaslight us all
I've just got the 1D, not counting my2LDK, so I guess she's shit out of luck.
i mean hey, i love Sherlock too. in EVERY media. And it doesn't help one bit that i love NASUVERSE TOO!!
Japan bout to go extinct
Good. Give her a 2D salary.
Based. Respect
Let's go minister like this will make the dream of AI partners come true ASAP
I’m married to the country. Elizabeth Kimi Onoda.
A true woman of culture it seems.
Sherlock Holmes from FGO in the background. Good choiceeee
Why have kids when their leaders don't want to
Wasn't this the same woman who liked Hetalia?