It's only when the tide goes out, as Warren Buffett famously said, that you learn who's been swimming naked. Well, 2013 has been a banner year for skinny-dipping among Asian leaders, central banks and business people.
In Japan and South Korea, talk of epochal change from two newish leaders was shown to be empty. China's supposedly peaceful rise was laid bare by aggressive actions. Hopes that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would rediscover his reformist roots proved barren. Supposedly omnipotent Dear Leader Kim Jong Un executed his uncle and No. 2 for allegedly brewing a coup. Australia's new leader found his approval ratings to be bottomless.
As the year draws to a close, all too many would-be emperors in Asia were revealed to have all too few clothes. The most shameless top our first Naked Awards: