* Media persons of the year: Children
For years we've been told that Japanese people aren't having enough of them, but despite cliches about their being precious resources and the hope of the future, those who have managed to make it into this world hardly seem welcome.
Admittedly, the media over-reports anything tragic, but it's difficult not to get depressed over the daily roll call of kids dying at the hands of parents -- or, for that matter, parents dying at the hands of their children.