Japan hosts government-sponsored costume contest

Dyeing her long hair blue and sporting a fluffy miniskirt, Renee Gloger is all dressed up as Umi, a Japanese cartoon character with magical powers.

The 22-year-old New Yorker is among the participants in a Japanese government-sponsored contest beginning Saturday to promote "costume play" _ the practice of dressing up in outlandish costumes and glittering makeup to emulate comic book characters.

"It's so cool to be here," Gloger said after a news conference Wednesday, where she posed for photos with Itsunori Onodera, senior vice-foreign minister.

The sixth-annual World Cos-Play Summit in Nagoya, central Japan, is expected to draw 28 contestants from 13 countries, including China, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. The two-day contest will name a winner on Sunday, but it was unclear if there would be any prizes.

Onodera acknowledged he didn't recognize the cartoon characters, but said that Japan is serious about aggressively promoting animation and the culture that it represents overseas.

The country has been trying to use the power of pop culture to raise its clout on the international stage, recently appointing cartoon cat robot Doraemon as an ambassador.

"Japanese culture has spread abroad through animation. As a nation, we support animation and hope to make the best use of it as an important diplomatic tool," Onodera said.

Costume play began among young Japanese animation fans but it's now being touted as a major cultural export by the government.

Manga, the name used for Japanese-style comic books, often combines complex stories with drawing styles that differ from their superhero counterparts overseas, particularly in their emphasis on cuteness. Characters often have big doe eyes and frilly costumes.

Fellow New Yorker Sonnya Paz, 21, dyed her hair pink and wore red contact lenses to simulate rabbit-like eyes to play her favorite character, schoolgirl Hikaru in "Magic Knight Rayearth." She said she has been "hooked" on Japanese cartoons and manga since her youth.

"She eats a lot, and she is super energetic," Paz said, clutching a fuzzy stuffed bunny.

The idea of winning over people abroad to Japan through costume play and manga doesn't sound strange to people like Paz.

"I learn more about Japanese culture through animation," she said.