Deletion of Nontan

Comment: Nontan is one of the most popular and long lasting characters for very young children in Japan. Not only has the book series been adapted into anime and theatrical plays, but it has been the subject of academic articles such as http://ci.nii.ac.jp/search?q=%E3%83%8E%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3 these. Searching the Asahi Shinbun database, I can find dozens of article on Nontan, including a long obit on the author (who was only known for Nontan) on 2008.10.12, a long article on 2006.9.6 marking Nontan's 30th anniversary, another on the development of Nontan character goods (2000.2.16), one on the town that is using Nontan as its town symbol (1999.3.11), and so on. Many more can be found in other sources. The book series easily passes  and the character passes 
Stance: keep
Cited policy: Wikipedia:Notability (WP:BK||WP:GNG)