Light Cars Are Heavyweights in Japan

Japan's top mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Friday its net profit rose nearly 12 percent in the first quarter, boosted by the growing popularity of smartphones.The nation's largest mobile carrier by subscriber numbers said net profit for the fiscal first quarter -- from April to June -- stood at 158.7 billion yen ($2.05 billion), up 11.7 percent from a year earlier.DoCoMo, whose smartphone lineup includes Samsung Electronic Co.'s Galaxy S, said it had 58.4 million subscribers at the end of June, adding 1.9 million from the same time of last year.

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Commercial airliners largely fly on autopilot. Would bypassing the driver also improve safety for cars?

The popularity of cars can be measured by several factors. Among these are total unit sales in a year, market share versus direct competitors, and sales improvement year-over-year.

Japan will deploy two more patrol ships to boost its defence of islands at the centre of a territorial row with China and has conducted its first drill simulating the recapture of an isle seized by enemy forces.

Via J. Michael Cole of The Diplomat.com,

We are becoming Europe. Or at least, more and more, our cars are resembling those purchased overseas. Considering that American drivers are facing some of the same factors that for years have shaped auto markets abroad—high gas prices, regulations mandating better mpg—the shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient cars makes perfect sense. That goes for right now, and down the road as well. Slowly but surely, automakers have come to the realization that small economy cars will sell well in the U.S., and even be good profit-makers, just as they are in overseas markets.