Japan's cartoon character Doraemon(R), who has been appointed as the nation's first Anime Ambassador, is presented his favorite food "Dora-yaki" (pancakes) by Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura during an inauguration ceremony at the foreign ministry in Tokyo. [Agencies]

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 F. 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.