Cashing in on Bashing

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How to earn big yen by exploiting the U.S.-Japan rivalry? A Japanese software manufacturer hopes to do it with Japan Bashing, a hot new computer game for all those obsessive nerds who lie awake worrying about the trade imbalance. While a TV newscaster intones actual news stories (e.g., the purchase of U.S. film studios by Sony and Matsushita), Japanese cars and computer chips are shown converging on a map of the U.S. Winged dollars at the top of the screen fly back toward Japan. Who wins? Flying hot dogs indicate an American victory; sushi signals a Japanese triumph. Then there are cowboys who shoot at samurai warriors. The brochure describes Japan Bashing with some understatement as "a game of reality and tension."