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| Checking stock: hunt for eco-friendly goods.* |
The Japanese government's economic stimulus programme since mid May has centred on giving incentives in the form of "'eco-points" to purchase eco-friendly home electronic appliances.
It allows buyers of energy-efficient air conditioners, refrigerators and television sets until the end of March 2010 to accumulate eco-points that can be traded later for other goods and services worth up to US$410 per item.
People who purchase highly energy-conserving digital TV sets or other devices receive points worth between 5% and 10% of the product price, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun daily.
Apparently the government has its eyes on the summer bonus shopping season while at the same time stepping up the fight against global warming by raising awareness of the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Minister reportedly said that the exchange period will probably start in August, and he is confident that the programme is starting to move in the right direction to stimulate consumption.
Faced with falling sales amid the global economic slowdown, Japanese electronics retailers have started labelling about 2,000 types of products as eligible for the programme. They have also launched their own campaigns with some sweeteners, as price-cutting is expected to intensify the battle for market share.
Under the programme, consumers will need to keep their receipts and product warranty certificates to receive the points. One eco-point is worth 1 yen (assuming US$1 = Yen 98.3).
The programme will also offer 3,000 to 5,000 points to those who buy new products and ask stores to trade in their used products for recycling. Under this arrangement, shoppers will be asked to keep their "'recycling tickets" to prove they paid the related charges.
Japanese newspapers such as the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun have reported caution among consumers, given the lateness of the campaign to show shoppers how the system works and which specific products fall within the scheme.
News website What Japan Thinks (http://whatjapanthinks.com) ran the results of a survey in early June which showed that while 66.4% of the 1,088 samples of consumers across all age groups from teenage to over sixty had heard of the scheme, some 60% were not investigating opportunities to purchase items under it.
Of the 35% of respondents to the survey who were interested in the scheme, 79.2% were expecting to purchase digital TV sets, while a further 24.8% and 21.8% were looking at the prospect of buying refrigerators and air conditioners respectively.
from Akiyasu Shindo, Tokyo Office
(* © JNTO)
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