As the background to this, it can be pointed out that prices of digital appliances had fallen to the bottom and fierce price competition in the household electrical appliances industry came to an end.
It should not be overlooked that the halt in the price decline of digital appliances is attributable to the fact that prices of these products had become more susceptible to the effects of the yen’s depreciation with the increased import penetration ratio. A decline in competitiveness and pricing power in the industry in Japan can be pointed out as a reason behind such susceptibility.