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.
「早く結婚を」「子供を産め」
20代の頃から有権者に言われ続けてきたけど40になってもまだこの言葉をぶつけられる事にため息出ますわ。何歳になったら言われずに済むようになるのか。3次元では国と結婚してるし、そもそもプライベートは２次専だって言ってるでしょ！！何度でも言うぞ２次専なの！！
— 小野田紀美@岡山 (@onoda_kimi) December 8, 2022
“‘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.
以前から言っていますが、私は3次元が恋愛対象ではありません。ネタとかではなく本気でです。私にとって「結婚という可能性を自分に見出される事自体が不快」(リプより引用)なのは、ゲイの方に異性と結婚する事を勧めているのと同じだと思って頂けたら…。セクハラとかでなく、心底不快なのです。
— 小野田紀美@岡山 (@onoda_kimi) April 25, 2019
“I do not consider 3D (real-life people) as romantic prospects,” another post reads. “I’m serious about this, not joking …The possibility of getting married feels so utterly creepy to me.”
The Otaku Politician
The 43-year-old Japanese-American minister from Okayama Prefecture has over one million followers on X and 365,000 on Instagram, and she’s gained extra traction for being an “otaku politician” with open enthusiasm for anime and video games. Earlier this month Onoda excitedly tweeted about clearing the latest chapter of the Fate/Grand Order mobile RPG game, posing with a bouquet of cup ramen that her secretaries presented to her.
Her hobbies have made her a notable figure within online otaku communities, with her high-ranking office position deemed to further dismantle generational stereotypes of otaku as reclusive deviants.
Politically, Onoda is a staunch nationalist within the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party. She has recently frequented both domestic and international news for her outspoken views on immigration policy, promising to take firm action and stating, “Foreigners who do bad things will no longer exist in Japan.”
The Rise of ‘Fictosexuals’
Onoda’s social media posts have sparked discussions over 2D love and the societal pressures such as marriage and motherhood that women, even in top positions of power, are repeatedly confronted with.
Though it’s still a pretty niche phenomenon, there has been an upward trend of individuals turning to fictional romantic partners — and even marrying them. In one of the most prolifically circulated otaku love stories, a government employee named Akihiko Kondo spent over two million yen to tie the knot with virtual pop singer Hatsune Miku in 2018. This year, an office worker in Okayama went viral for holding a wedding ceremony this summer with her AI-generated anime-style groom.
A 2017 study conducted by the Japanese Association for Sex Education found that more than 10 percent of men and women between the ages of 16 and 29 had romantic feelings for fictional characters. The highest demographic of self-proclaimed “fictosexuals,” as the study labeled, was found among female university students — with over 17 percent reporting attraction.
Looking more mainstream, recent surveys have found that nearly half of young Japanese people are engaged in oshikatsu fan activities, demonstrating a growing shift towards the fictional world.
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Updated On December 17, 2025
