Cashing in on Bashing

By SIDNEY URQUHART/

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."

With reporting by Wendy Cole