In this shopping-mad country, an all-time favourite are the 100-Yen Stores. For a little more than a dollar, savvy consumers can stock up on everything from origami paper to banana cases to milk carton-shaped erasers. Equivalents are known around the world, however, the Japanese make their Hyaki-En Shops a little more special by offering kawaii and rather high-qualitative stuff for every part of daily life.

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. had just completed the installation of two “Solar Parking Lots" that are a completely independent and clean system eliminating the use of fossil fuels and prove Sanyo to be a leader in the field of Green Energy. Now they move to the next and want to introduce a new system of energy production by '13.

Global shipments of smart phones, such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone, are expected to total 175 million units in 2010, up 15 percent over the previous year, and reach 343 million by 2013, a private market research firm said Thursday.

Japan's consumer sentiment improved in May for the fifth straight month as an economic recovery helped ease concern over employment  prospects, government data showed Thursday.

Sony Corp. started selling three-dimensional televisions Thursday, joining its rivals in the competition over 3-D TVs and hoping to expand demand as the soccer World Cup opens Friday. Sony is offering two models in its Bravia series, both of which come with special 3-D glasses.

Fujitsu Ltd. on Wednesday took the wraps off its 3-D desktop personal computer, which will hit the domestic market June 17, as the electronics maker joined rivals competing for the anticipated increase in demand for 3-D products during the summer shopping season.

When Chie Matsumoto buys anything — from a DVD player to golf goods to a telephone — she now chooses secondhand goods because brand-new items aren't necessarily what she needs. "If the specs are enough, I'd rather buy used goods because their prices are lower," the 39-year-old office worker said.

Japanese researchers have identified a molecule in the body that limits the symptoms of asthma, hay fever, atopic dermatitis and other allergies, providing hope for the development of a new wide-ranging medicine.