Mazembe sealed a second successive triumph with just over 20 minutes remaining, when Mukok Kanda equalized and ended any hopes of an Esperance comeback.
As young stars like singer Kahara Tomomi and TV personality Kanda Uno jumped on the bandwagon (without apparent prompting from Sanrio), the cat's third coming was assured.
"If U.S. economy improves, and the Bank of Japan's aggressive easing continues ... that will lead to further dollar strength and yen weakness, " said Kanda, who predicts the dollar will rise to 110 yen this year.