One of the biggest victims of the change looks like being the famed kaizen (step-by-step improvement) system that was pioneered by Toyota in the 1970s and has been treated as gospel by manufacturers throughout Japan ever since.

ECONOMIST: The land of disappointments | The

His latest passion is for establishing a business-improvement district and a system of self-imposed taxation for street cleaning and security.

ECONOMIST: The puppet-master of toytown

The main purpose for a testing phase of any new weapons system is to iron out bugs -- it is supposed to find opportunities for product improvement.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

According to a report this week from the Audit Commission, a public-spending watchdog, the introduction of a similar system in Australia resulted in a big productivity improvement.

ECONOMIST: National Health Service

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata took to the internets to deliver an encouraging batch of news directly to fans, starting with a promised update to overall system speed of the Wii U, a welcome improvement to all those gamers who are short on patience -- which, really, is all of them.

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Groopman's research showed that during the course of illness, belief and expectation -- two mental states associated with hope -- have an impact on the nervous system which, in turn, sets off a chain reaction that makes improvement and recovery more likely.

CNN: How hope can help you heal