The October 2 edition of the Nikkei, Japan's leading business newspaper, carried a review, by Tokyo University Professor Kikkawa Takeo, of two recently translated books that discuss peak oil. As most readers will know, peak oil is the theory that the global supply of oil is about to peak in production and then irrevocably decline, leading to enormous challenges for our oil-dependent societies. The books the Nikkei decided to review are Paul Robert's “The End of Oil,” and Linda McQuaig's “It's the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil, and the Fight for the Planet” (the latter misleadingly titled “Peak Oil” in Japanese). The Nikkei gives peak oil theory gets a thumbs down. The review approvingly cites a 2005 Nikkei publication “Reading Oil” (Sekiyu wo Yomu), which argues that technology and new investment will increase oil reserve recovery rates and ensure new finds. And to cap the rebuttal, an appeal to authority: an article in the May 2005 edition of the Japanese Oil and Natural Gas Review that essentially dismisses peak oil theory.