Japan Optoelectronic Product Output to Keep Growth in F2008

Japanese domestic production of optoelectronic products is estimated at 8.704 trillion yen in fiscal 2008 starting April, up by 6.4% from fiscal 2007, announced Optoelectronic Industry & Technology Development Association (OITDA) on Thursday. The output value would represent year-to-year increase for 4 years in a row thanks to strong demand for digital camera and flat panel display (FPD). Optoelectronic products include digital appliances, information technology products, solar cells, industrial laser products and all related parts.Domestic production of digital camera is estimated to increase by 12.9% to 1.144 trillion yen in fiscal 2008 from fiscal 2007, 2-digit year-to-year growth for 2 years in a row. The output value seems to exceed 1 trillion yen for the first time in fiscal 2007 with demand growth for single-lens reflex type and multi-function compact type.Domestic FPD production is expected to increase by 8.5% to 1.108 trillion yen in fiscal 2008 from fiscal 2007, among which liquid crystal display increase by 9.6% to 907.1 billion yen and plasma display panel increase by 4% to 200.7 billion yen. Demand for FPD is expected to increase largely with Beijing Olympic and complete transition from analog to digital broadcasting in Japan in 2011.