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Implementation Status of the Program to Promote the Spread of Green Home Appliances by Utilizing Eco-Points (as of the end of December)

Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Secretariat for Green Home Appliance Eco-Points

The Program to Promote the Spread of Green Home Appliances by Utilizing Eco-Points has been conducted under the FY 2009 supplementary budget in order to [1] promote global warming countermeasures, [2] stimulate the economy, [3] and facilitate the wider use of televisions for terrestrial digital broadcasting. Under the program, the government has been accepting applications for eco-points from individuals since July 1, 2009 and those from corporations since August 7, 2009. The government summarized the program’s implementation status from July to December and hereby releases it. The key points of the report are as follows:

- The total number of applications from individuals accepted in December was about 1.29 million, and the number of applications to which points have been issued was about 1.51 million (23.8 billion points). Both figures increased more than they did in the previous month.
- In the latest report, the breakdown of the number of exchanged items and environmental donations is provided with respect to applications by corporation for the first time. As in the case with applications by individuals, more than 90% of eco-points were exchanged for gift certificates and prepaid cards. However, the corporate sector was unlike the individuals sector in that energy-conservation and eco-friendly products accounted for 1.63% of the total number of exchanged items, which was more than ten times the percentage among individuals (0.13%).

1. Implementation status for individuals (as of December 31, 2009, total number of applications)

    Eco-points
Number of applications accepted 6,266,193 - - -
Eco-points issued 5,566,186 100.00% 85,932,831,000 100.00%
- Air conditioners 977,445 17.56% 8,823,505,000 10.27%
- Refrigerators 824,717 14.82% 9,967,001,000 11.60%
- TVs 3,764,024 67.62% 67,142,325,000 78.13%
Eco-points issued 5,566,186 100.00% 85,932,831,000 100.00%
- Replaced 3,827,909 68.77% 12,827,721,000 14.93%
- New purchase 1,738,277 31.23% 73,105,110,000 85.07%
Eco-points issued 5,566,186 100.00% 85,932,831,000 100.00%
Eco-points yet to be exchanged - - 6,662,557,777 7.75%
Number of exchanged items - - 79,270,273,223 92.25%
 
Number of exchanged items 7,083,513 100.00% 79,270,273,223 100.00%
(1) Points exchanged for products 7,009,490 98.95% 78,066,267,123 98.48%
A. Gift certificates, prepaid cards 6,546,274 92.42% 75,558,097,679 95.32%
- Rail, bus and ferry fares 40,070 0.57% 370,507,540 0.47%
- Food and restaurant gift certificates 244,188 3.45% 1,754,657,200 2.21%
- Gift certificates for daily necessities-related products 1,406,567 19.86% 10,863,176,900 13.70%
- Travel and hotel vouchers 123,624 1.75% 1,274,002,940 1.61%
- Gift certificates issued by retail chains 2,030,436 28.66% 22,449,888,100 28.32%
- Prepaid cards issued by retail chains 613,802 8.67% 6,916,968,739 8.73%
- Gift certificates issued by credit card companies 2,052,292 28.97% 31,648,125,900 39.92%
- Gift certificates for mail-order catalogs 35,295 0.50% 280,770,360 0.35%
B. Regional gift certificates 224,983 3.18% 1,463,643,165 1.85%
C. Nationwide regional products 161,811 2.28% 750,610,132 0.95%
D. Prefecture-specific regional products 60,272 0.85% 266,674,091 0.34%
E. Energy-conservation and eco-friendly products 9,390 0.13% 22,034,293 0.03%
K. Environmental donations 6,760 0.095% 5,207,763 0.0066%
(2) Points exchanged at the store of purchase 74,023 1.05% 1,204,006,100 1.52%
- Terrestrial digital TV antenna installation 61,060 0.86% 1,074,770,900 1.36%
- Energy-efficient light bulbs and batteries 12,963 0.18% 129,235,200 0.16%
Notes

• The eco-points issued refer to the total of eco-points for which applications have been examined and registrations have been completed.
• The number of exchanged items refers to the total of items for which order information has been sent to companies providing the items for exchange.
• It takes about one to two months to place orders to the providers of exchange items after the acceptance of applications. Applications with illegible entries may take longer to be processed.
• The number of exchanged items exceeds that of eco-points given because an applicant can request up to four items for exchange at a time.

2. Implementation status for corporations (as of December 31, 2009, total number of applications)

Number of corporations that have submitted applications: 9,504

*Applications following Application Procedures A (except for applications only for registration of corporations) and B are counted.

- Application Procedure A: The application procedure for corporations in general (all corporations except those eligible for Application Procedure B)
- Application Procedure B: The application procedure for small-to-medium companies that expect to apply for eco-points for less than 10 items in total.

    Eco-points
Corporations of Eco-points issued 3,782 - - -
Eco-points issued 9,849 100.00% 129,516,000 100.00%
- Air conditioners 1,128 11.45% 10,171,000 7.85%
- Refrigerators 673 6.83% 5,746,000 4.44%
- TVs 8,048 81.71% 113,599,000 87.71%
Eco-points issued 9,849 100.00% 129,516,000 100.00%
- Replaced 3,920 39.80% 12,666,000 9.78%
- New purchase 5,929 60.20% 116,850,000 90.22%
 
Eco-points issued 9,849 100.00% 129,516,000 100.00%
Eco-points yet to be exchanged - - 75,148,074 58.02%
Number of exchanged items 3,188 100.00% 54,367,926 100.00%
A. Gift certificates, prepaid cards 2,877 90.24% 52,641,020 96.82%
- Rail, bus and ferry fares 12 0.38% 94,400 0.17%
- Food and restaurant gift certificates 106 3.32% 867,700 1.60%
- Gift certificates for daily necessities-related products 518 16.25% 4,565,800 8.40%
- Travel and hotel vouchers 52 1.63% 1,104,440 2.03%
- Gift certificates issued by retail chains 1,037 32.53% 20,875,600 38.40%
- Prepaid cards issued by retail chains 227 7.12% 2,760,100 5.08%
- Gift certificates issued by credit card companies 915 28.70% 22,246,100 40.92%
- Gift certificates for mail-order catalogs 10 0.31% 126,880 0.23%
B. Regional gift certificates 150 4.71% 1,186,000 2.18%
C. Nationwide regional products 71 2.23% 316,340 0.58%
D. Prefecture-specific regional products 19 0.60% 46,280 0.09%
E. Energy-conservation and eco-friendly products 52 1.63% 113,868 0.21%
K. Environmental donations 19 0.60% 64,418 0.12%
Notes

• The eco-points issued refer to the number and the total of eco-points that have been registered after applications for the registration of corporations and purchased items have been examined.
• Applications by corporations are more strictly examined than those by individuals by requiring the submission of original certificates of registration, tax payment and seal registration.

Release Date

January 18, 2010

Division in Charge

Information and Communication Electronics Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau