OK. I've been checking out this guy Joi Ito. He's incredible. It's not a great comparison, but he seems to be the Richard Branson of Japan. No, he's more Richard Branson than Richard Branson. He lives in a village that sounds even more rural than my place (without even city water connected), yet he moves and shakes the online world - moves and makes millions and even billions (if you're talking yen). He's right into blogging (as in he keeps a blog, but also probably owns everyone else's) and is incredibly sharp in his observations. He even remarks that Japan must accept and make itself more hospitable to foreign residents or else it will degrade to be a nation of starving old people (kind of follows on from what I was saying about Japan's population problem). He makes really perceptive comments/criticisms on lots of issues that he's actually close to and yet he's also down to earth and young enough to talk about his favourite Doraemon products (Doraemon is a cute blue robot cat that can fly - there's a version of iPod mini available) which he uses, post funny photos or just talk about how he feels - even what he's doing to lose weight. He also writes articles on his blog about points of Japanese culture in a similar vein to mine, only with far greater quality of writing and a Japanese viewpoint. He even leaves his email address and phone numbers for you to contact him and apologises if he hasn't replied! Very compelling dude... will have to read more, but I think I'm a fan. I will add a link to the Spamurai...