Kanji of the Year: "Fake"

The results of the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation's annual poll are in, and "偽" ("nise" —fake, imitation) has been chosen as the kanji character which best sums up the year 2007 in Japan.

After a string of problems including government money scandals, falsified construction safety data, and mis-labeling of food products—to name but a few—18 percent of those polled (or maybe it was 6550 entries--see below) selected "nise".
(Perhaps fittingly, one of the numbers above is incorrect in the Kyodo article [article has been removed]. The math doesn't add up.)

Here are a few more "imitations" to add to the list, just off the top of my head:

-Christmas (so romantic! Reserve your Xmas cake now.)
-Christian-style weddings, Shinto New Year's prayers, and Buddhist funerals. Which is it?
-Wedding chapel priests —white fake priests are cooler than real Japanese ones.
-Giri choco —Valentine's Day without the sentiment.
-Indoor beaches and ski slopes.
-The Kano Sisters —is anything on them real besides their jewellery?
and of course:
-Public apologies for the aforementioned scandals —just as false as what they are apologizing for.

Fake, imitation...let's call it "phony".
Yep, without a doubt, 偽 is the perfect choice.