A Japanese auction (also called ascending clock auction) is a dynamic auction format. It proceeds in the following way. * An initial price is displayed. This is usually a low price - it may be either 0 or the seller's reserve price. * All buyers that are interested in buying the item at the displayed price enter the auction arena. * The displayed price increases continuously, or by small discrete steps (e.g. one cent per second). * Each buyer may exit the arena at any moment. * No exiting buyer is allowed to re-enter the arena. * When a single buyer remains in the arena, the auction stops. The remaining buyer wins the item and pays the displayed price.