Japan's Prime Minister is determined to push ahead with plans to build a $150 million museum dedicated to comics, despite the country's dire economic situation.

The Japanese economy is in its worst recession since World War II and Taro Aso, a self-declared Manga comic fan, is facing his own political downturn.

Ever since Astro Boy blasted on to western TV screens in the 1960s, Japanese Manga comics and animation, or anime, has been recognised worldwide as a distinct cultural art form.

In Japan, children and adults alike can be seen reading Manga comics in cafes and on trains.

Mr Aso's decision to construct the so-called Manga museum has drawn mockery from the opposition.

In Parliament, opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama said he knew Mr Aso was a big fan of Manga, but he questioned why the state should be spending $150 million to build the museum.

"Isn't this just a colossal waste of money?" he said.

"This isn't just some spur of the moment idea that I dreamed up," Mr Aso said.

"It was planned by the previous administration and I am implementing it."

Pushing pop art

The issue is so serious that Mr Aso's coalition partners called a cartoonist to their party room to explain why a Manga museum was needed.

"Some of the original Manga cartoons are in real bad shape and need restoration and protection," award-winning cartoonist Machiko Satonaka says.

"A museum would be the perfect place for them."

But for many Japanese, the idea of spending $150 million on a building dedicated to cartoons and animation beggars belief, especially given the country is in recession and has just recorded its worst slump on record.

"Of course Japanese comics are popular here and abroad, but why are we spending so much money on a museum for them?" one woman asks.

"This issue needs more debate; It's a lot of money," one man says.

But for Manga-mad Mr Aso, the museum is an important shrine to home-grown pop art.

It is doubtful, though, that it will help him rocket up the opinion polls like his hero Astro Boy.