from today's Nikkei

小売、東北に大量出店　復興消費持続見込む　ミニストップ３年で１００店　ヤマダ電機前年の２倍

Recently it has been learned that many major retailors have a very positive attitude toward opening new shops in the Tohoku region devastated by the March earthquake and tsunami. Among convinience store operators,Ministop Co.,Ltd. has a plan to open three times more new shops than before the earthquake and FamiliMart Co.,Ltd. also will open five times more new shops.Among the home electronics retailors Yamada-Denki Co. intends to newly open 15 to 20 shops,which are almost double those last year.

Althoug the population is declining in the Tohoku and municipalities's reconstruction plans seem to fall behind the schedule, consumption for recovery of people's lives is believed to last long. This is why many comnapnies are increasing their investment there.

from July 10 Nikkei

住宅ローン金利優遇継続　フラット３５　投資を下支え　国交省検討　下げ幅１％は圧縮の方向

It is learned that the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has decided to continue from the next fiscal year on its policy of giving good treatment in terms of interest rates to the people having getting long-term housing loans from the independent administrative insitution Japan Housing Finance Agency.It is because they intend to bolster people's investment in housing construction.Long-term,fixed rate housing loan provided by the agency is called Flat 35 with the margin of its good treatment set as 1%. But the current margin of 1% will likely be reduced.

from July 16 Nikkei

次世代送電網　日本で展開　電力ピーク抑制見込む　スイスABB・米IBM

Foreign funds like a major Swiss engineering company ABB and U.S. IBM, which have already had experience of building so-called smard grid, will likely advance to Japan. They will develop the equipment for Japan by which electricity generated by solar bateries or wind is transmitted in high-tension direct current. As demand response by the next-generation, power-transmitting network has been the norm in the U.S. and Europe,the foreign funds seem to start to make preparations for smart grid business in Japan.

from today's Nikkei

日本の稼ぎ頭「車・造船・電機」　韓国企業シェア奪う　円高・ウォン安背景に　FTA・電力・・・差拡大も

Amid the difficulties Japanese manufactures are facing due to higher yen, South Korean rivals in the industries of automobile, shipbuilding and electric machinery have increased their shares in the global market.

Specifically,Hyundai Motor Company has increased its sales in the U.S. and Europe thanks to improved quality of its vehicles almost equal to that of Japanese makers' products. And in case of Samsung Heavy Industries, taking advantage of cheaper won, South Korean currency,it is overwhelming Japanaese rivals by taking orders from the world for ships like resources-carrying vessels. As in July the free trade agreement between South Korea and EU took effect, South Korean products will increase their competitiveness in terms of price due to cut of tariffs.

Under these circumstances, if electricity shortage continues long in Japan,Japanese manufactures will have to face more serious situation.

from July 12 Nikkei

省エネ住宅　１０社連携　東芝やＫＤＤI　電力制御へ通信規格　家電や電気自動車接続

According to sources concerned,ten Japanese companies,such as Toshiba Corporation,Panasonic Corporation,KDDI Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, have initiated the business of realizing "Smart House," or the next-generation, energy-saving house with tie-ups among them confirmed.

According to tha plan,they will jointly develop by around 2014 a system where a household electric consumption for an air conditioner and a refrigerator is intensively controlled by equipment installed in an each house while solar power generation as well as electric automobile batteries are utilized in order to reduce electric consumption.

Standardization of all the quipment makes the devices from different makers compatible with each other. I means one controlling panel in a house intensively controlle all the devices even from different makers. The companies intend to popularize smart houses.