Doraemon (Japanese: ドラえもん) is a fictional character in the Japanese manga and animated series of the same name created by Fujiko F. Fujio, the pen name of writing team Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko. Doraemon is a male robotic earless cat that travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a preteen boy named Nobita. An official birth certificate for the character gives him a birth date of 3 September 2112 and lists his city of residency as Kawasaki, Kanagawa, the city where the manga was created. In 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon the country's "anime ambassador".