Japan's LED lighting market shows high growth

　　Market research institute DIGITIMES Research pointed out that the Japanese LED lighting market expanded rapidly in 2010, growing 2.7 times compared to 2009, reaching 86.5 billion yen (approximately 1.1 billion US dollars). The reason the Japanese LED lighting market was able to grow so fast is not only attributed to Japan's mature LED R&D technology, but also to the active promotion by the government.

　　DIGITIMES Research analyzes that the power-saving measures that accompanied the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 were an important factor in prompting consumers to switch to LED lighting. Therefore, Japan's LED lighting will lead other countries from 2011, taking the lead in entering a growth period. According to statistics, after the 311 earthquake in Japan, the sales volume of bulb-type LED lamps grew 2-3 times compared to before the earthquake, with their share of bulb-type lighting exceeding that of incandescent bulbs for the first time.

　　Japan's 311 earthquake is undoubtedly the biggest driving force accelerating the growth of Japan's LED lighting market. Moreover, with the bulb-type LED lamp standard and straight-tube LED lamp standard launched successively in 2011, and the price of bulb-type LED lamps dropping to around 2,000 yen, the LED lighting market size in 2011 is expected to reach nearly 1.8 times that of 2010, driven by various positive factors, amounting to 157 billion yen.

　　Japan began requiring lighting manufacturers to stop producing and selling incandescent bulbs in 2012. Demand for bulb-type LED lamps is expected to increase at that point, so DIGITIMES Research forecasts that 2011 and 2012 will be a period of high growth for LED lighting, with annual growth rates exceeding 70%.

　　However, because demand for LED lighting surged ahead of schedule in 2011, market growth will slow down after 2012. Nevertheless, the Japanese government intends to launch next-generation lighting subsidy programs in 2015 to achieve the goal of 100% market scale for high-efficiency lighting by 2020. Therefore, the LED lighting market will continue to grow at a steady pace, and DIGITIMES Research forecasts that the market penetration rate of LED lighting will reach nearly 75% by 2015.