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According to the following article it appears Japan is moving ahead with a 7% ethyl tertiary butyl ether additive strategy in their fuel to reduce emissions;

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/04/japan_to_begin_.html

How does this affect FE? I would be willing to try it, as I live in Japan and I don't pay squat for my fuel costs. Doesn't stop me from hypermiling, though. It just gives me the opportunity to mess around with different things that I may not do if I were picking up the tab.

Does ETBE constitute any improvement over the MTBE that was commonly used in the US as an octane booster? I can't believe one carbon atom makes it better.

The difference between ethly and methyl is one carbon atom + 2 hydrogens. And yes, there could be a huge difference. Consider ethanol vs methanol. Ethanol is (relatively) safe for you and your car, methanol is not.