Chapter 4 　Birth of Setsuden-mushi (a profitmaking device) 　4.3 Received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize

　Setsuden-mushi, which was introduced nationwide by NHK, was in its third year of development. The product was introduced as many as nine times in in the newspapers, the magazines and on the radio, and the television, and its recognition seemed to be increasing, but it was still not at the stage of selling well.

　The awareness of energy conservation was not that high as of 1996. The level of awareness varies among individuals and companies, but the leading companies, which were considered large corporations, were among the first to try to obtain the ISO 14001 certification, which is an international standard for environmental management and auditing.

　Meanwhile, in 1990, the Energy Conservation Center sponsored the Energy Conservation Vanguard 21 (Energy Conservation Vanguard 21), which was an award for energy-saving equipment and systems for the 21st century. Many individuals, groups, and corporations submitted their independently developed and constructed technologies and systems to this award system to compete for energy conservation achievements, and received public recognition for their contribution to energy conservation through the awards. (The "Energy Conservation Vanguard 21" was renamed the "Energy Conservation Grand Prize" in 1998.)

And Setsuden-mushi, the power saving device, was fortunate enough to be able to apply for this award system.

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