The Man Who Made Palin's Spectacular Specs

TOKYO, Sept. 12, 2008— -- The rise of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin suddenly pushed someone across the Pacific into the spotlight.

"The glasses Ms. Palin wears seemed like one of the pairs I designed, but I was not 100 percent certain," Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki told ABCNews.com. "I was never able to get a closer look on television. But when a Japanese reporter told me they were mine, I was very excited."

Palin is not Kawasaki's first client from the U.S. political arena.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell once posed for the cover of Time magazine wearing one of Kawasaki's creations. Time's current issue carries a photo of Palin wearing hers. The list of his fans goes on -- former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and, proving Kawasaki's bipartisan appeal, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Kawasaki takes advantage of his many artistic talents in designing glasses. An industrial designer with a doctoral degree in medical science, Kawasaki has designed a variety of products from cutlery to artificial organs.

Basing his designs on the concept of human engineering, Kawasaki said he tries to design glasses that are "functional," meeting both the medical and the fashion needs of the wearers.

The MP-704 model, Palin's choice, was already popular among male customers in Japan, according to Akira Nagayama, a manager at Masunaga Optical Mfg Co. Ltd.

Now, Nagayama said his store has been receiving inquiries every day from people wanting to know more about this particular model. The three-point tension-mounted frames use beta titanium, the leading material in modern eyeglasses.

"Now both men and women are interested in this model," Nagayama told ABCNews.com.

The boost in popularity is likely to travel to the United States as well. "We will be shipping between 4,000 and 5,000 pairs to our U.S. distributor. Ms. Palin has led quite an eyewear trend. She is already a good leader," Nagayama said.