Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama rides Toyota’s personal mobility i-REAL during a photo session after a news conference to announce the government’s new growth strategy. The zippidy zip around the Premier’s official Tokyo residence was intended to promote a “green economy.”

Hatoyama later danced with Honda’s humanoid droid Asimo and drove Mitsubishi’s electric vehicle MiEV. A great way to kiss 2009 goodbye; only in the stately playgrounds of Japan.