The Japanese car company is famous for touting that 80 percent of its Corollas sold over the last two decades are still on the road - the Swift is designed with that sort of longevity in mind.

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"He is one of the few Japanese leaders who can speak his mind clearly and openly to the public and take swift action on what he believes in, " says Matsui Kiyondo, editor-in-chief of the influential monthly magazine Bungei Shunju.

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