Zagreb (in former Yugoslavia) is a fairly volatile place these days, so we don't know how Matej Gaspar is doing. Matej became the 5-billionth inhabitant of the planet, born shortly after 8am on July 11, 1987. When then-UN secretary-general Javier Perez de Cuellar congratulated Matej's parents on their accomplishment, common predictions were that the 6-billionth person would see the light of day some time in 1998. Here we are today, one year later, and - depending on whether you believe the US Department of Commerce, or take it from Nostradamus - world population will have reached the 6-billion mark on either July 19 or July 29, 1999. According to our own statistics, the lucky earthling will arrive on August 10, somewhere in Chiba, and will automatically qualify for a free life-long subscription to Tokyo Journal. Would the parents of Takashi Sato please contact our subscription department? August is one of those months when Tokyo resembles an Asian ghost town. This is not evidence of a population decline, however. It is simply the obon season - when the Japanese visit the graves of their ancestors and foreigners tend to hop abroad for a few days. August also has its share of fireworks. Last year we listed no less than 54 hanabi in our Cityscope section, and offered lifetime subscriptions to the first five readers who managed to visit them all. Well, this year we list just a handful but the offer still stands. Send in a photo of each hanabi for a chance at getting your very own TJ sent to you free of charge for life ­ your life or ours. stephan hauser
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