Chapter 4 　Birth of Setsuden-mushi (a profitmaking device) 　4.3 Received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize 4.3.1 Deadline is September 11, just 8 days later

　On August 23, 1996, when Setsuden-mushi was introduced to the whole country by NHK, we received many inquiries and requests for information by phone and fax from the morning.

　Among them, Mr. Akio Yamamoto of F.T.F. Corporation in Tokyo told me that Setsuden-mushi is effective in saving electricity and that we should apply for the aforementioned Energy Conservation Vanguard 21 (an award for energy-saving equipment and systems for the 21st century). We were very grateful and happy to get his suggestion.

　After that, Mr. Akio Yamamoto asked us specific questions about Setsuden-mushi and faxed us the company's sales method and company profile materials in order to confirm the possibility of selling Setsuden-mushi at his company. He also explained in writing the Energy Conservation Vanguard 21 (Vanguard means "pioneer"), an award system for energy-saving devices and systems. Furthermore, he kindly prepared two copies of the application documents and sent them to us on August 29. I was very impressed by how kind people can be in this world.

　According to Mr. Yamamoto's calculations, the amount of fax standby electricity consumption nationwide exceeds the annual electricity consumption of 371,000 households in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, and he also attached the materials for his calculations.

　I received the application form for Energy Conservation Vanguard 21 from Mr. Yamamoto on September 3, 1996. After that, I immediately checked the application deadline. To my surprise, the application deadline was September 11, so there were only eight days left. Naturally, I rushed to prepare the application form.　

　It didn't take me long to fill out the application form, since I had been working hard for two years and two months on the development of Setsuden-mushi. On September 7, I sent the application by registered mail to the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECC) to complete the application.

　We did not expect to pass the first screening in October because it was the first time and we applied in a hurry. However, thanks to him, I passed the first screening. And I remember it was early November when I received a call to appear for the second round of hearing screening in Tokyo on the 14th of November.

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