Minicars

One in every three [Japanese] cars now a minivehicle

One official said the number of minivehicles soared in 2006 “because automakers took the wraps off a slew of new models and unleashed fully restyled models.”

[…]

Industry officials said the minivehicle category has been popular particularly with women and the elderly because they are easy to drive.

Such cars also benefited from fuel efficiency and low maintenance costs after the asset-inflated bubble burst in the early 1990s, they said.

Here’s Shiba, reporter for Pro Tennis magazine in the anime Prince of Tennis, in her awesome minicar. I want one!