Godzilla may try to destroy every building in his path in the movies, he must be a pretty nice lizard in real life, since Japan has officially recognized him as a citizen. Yes, Japan just got even more awesome.
Back in April, as the Associated Press notes, Godzilla was named a special resident and tourism ambassador for the Shinjuku ward in Tokyo. A life-size Godzilla head was even unveiled at the officers of movie studio Toho and the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in the district is marketing rooms that have views of the monster head. Because the one thing you want to see at the end of every day is Godzilla’s giant head staring at you.
Now, the Japanese-language site Shinjuku Keizai Shimbun is reporting that Godzilla has been given his own residency document. According to Rocket News 24’s translation of the document, it comes into effect on May 25. His date of birth is officially recognized as April 9, 1954, the day that Toho’s first Godzilla film was released.
The Shinjuku government is handing out 3,000 copies of the document for fans.
While Godzilla has always been beloved around the world, the King of the Monsters has been earning some extra attention thanks to last year’s hit Warner Bros. film. Toho is also planning the first Japanese Godzilla movie in over a decade.
Now, New York needs to step up and make King Kong an official resident as soon as possible.