I'm getting my first glimpse of our new title, Curing Japan's America Addiction, today. I'm in Tokyo for the official launch of the book this Thursday at the Ru Paul Hotel (OK, it's actually Le Port, but in katakana it reads like Ru Paul). I'm — gulp — supposed to deliver a short speech in Japanese before Mr. Morita's keynote lecture, which is why I arrived a few days early to see if I can still speak Japanese (turns out I can, thank god).

We'll have promos up on the site and special offers to our faithful readers throughout August. If you want a fascinating read on why Koizumi's structural reforms are destroying Japan's middle class and a reminder of just how horrible a president George Bush was — I mean have you read this?! — then this is a book for you. I think we could all use a little detox after the last eight years (but wait, while we're all in detox, they'll bomb Iran...).

Here's Morita quoted on Bloomberg on Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's performance at the recent G-8 summit in Hokkaido:

"He tried to gain points domestically by addressing Japan-specific issues, misunderstanding what it means to chair a summit conference,'' Morita said. "The impression that he gave of Japan to the outside world is that they are egotistical and inward- looking.''

And here's Mr. Morita without the polite media filter on the same subject in a column translated by Chin Music Press:

The G-8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit was an enormous waste. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was powerless and showed no leadership. He was dragged about, used and trampled upon by US President George W. Bush.

President Bush forced America's egoism down everyone's throats. He carried through with his "if I'm OK, who cares about the rest?" philosophy. The US flexed its muscles. All the other political leaders were powerless before him. As summit chair, Fukuda was especially pitiful, trying to read Bush's every whim.

Look for more on the book soon. We'll be dealing them out of the back of a van in Kabukicho for a few days, but then we should have a proper link on the site for the rest of the world to buy it.