The bass, as they always do, proliferated--either moved by migrating birds or fishing enthusiasts--and are now found in lakes from the capital to Kyoto, and even in eight of the 13 moats that surround Tokyo's Imperial Palace.

FORBES: Long Reach Of The Largemouth

The Spiral building was financed by Wacoal, a staid old Kyoto lingerie maker that also raised eyebrows with its Tokyo branch office, on prime land near the Imperial Palace.

CNN: AFTER THE BANG

Earlier this year several hundred homeless temporary workers set up a tent village in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, across from the labour ministry and a few blocks from the Imperial Palace.

ECONOMIST: Unemployment