Doraemon, Japan’s robot cat from the future, will celebrate turning minus 100 years old by being given official residence of the city where he will be born, a city official told AFP on Friday. The electronic blue feline, whose cartoon exploits have captivated children across Asia, is to be given a residency certificate for Kawasaki, a city near Tokyo, on September 3, exactly a century ahead of his supposed birth.
The city, in which the character’s creator lived, is also home to a popular museum of all things Doraemon and plans to issue copies of the time-travelling robot cat’s residency certificate to fans and visitors. “Doraemon was created and born in Kawasaki city. In that sense, he has always been a city resident,” Mayor Takao Abe told reporters, according to the online edition of the local Kanagawa Shimbun newspaper. “I hope (the residency certificate) will bring the museum closer to many people,” he said. The certificate will give Doraemon’s birthday as September 3, 2112, as well as listing his likes — pastries — and his dislikes — mice.