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January 1, 2006
Predictions for 2006
Well, its that time of year again - time for Our Man In Tokyo to look into his crystal ball and see what the new year holds in store. For those of you who missed my predictions last year ("...Jarhead and Memoirs of a Geisha will dominate the award season...", "Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi will be returned with a reduced majority") now is your chance to catch up with your knowledgeable friends and impress your enemies...
So, without further ado, my predictions for 2006:
Diplomatic license
Tensions between Japan and China slip to a new low when Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi retires and is replaced by hardliner Taro Aso. Adding fuel to the fire, the new PM claims in an early press conference that China is the greatest threat to "the future of the Japanese people".
And the award goes to...
Following his Best Actor Oscar win, Phillip Seymour Hoffman celebrates at the Vanity Fair after party by slipping back into character and giving his rendition of Truman Capote: the Studio 54 years.
3rd Nomination lucky
David Mitchell's Black Swan Green wins the Booker prize while Kurt Vonnegut's 'memoir' A Man Without a Country proves to be the year's most controversial release.
iPod, uPod...
Apple release a new and improved version of the iPod with 80GB of memory and 25 hour battery. Indeed, rapid improvements in battery technology see longer battery life for everything from cell phones to laptops. As a result, electronics companies must work extra hard to build redundancy into their products.
Che disastro
It will be another bad year for the world's weather. Large hurricanes will hit Florida, Louisiana as well as several Caribbean islands. While the damage will not be as bad as those that hit the region in '05, it will lead increasing numbers of residents to question whether or not they want to continue living there.
More trouble for Sony
Sony's Playstation 3, originally supposed to be released in Spring 2006, will miss its release date due to "unspecified technical delays" and will not appear on Japanese shelves until the end of the year. This comes as very bad news for a company which is still reeling from the success of Apple's iPod and the rootkit PR disaster.
Berlin ballgame
Since everyone else is predicting Brazil to take home the World Cup, I'm going to pick Germany. Ha!
Posted by Marcus at January 1, 2006 9:57 AM
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