Lumidas Japan Co Ltd exhibited a number of "LumiDas" series LED lighting products developed and manufactured by Fawoo Technology Co Ltd of Korea at Eco-Products 2008 (from Dec 11 to 13, 2008, at Tokyo Big Sight in Chiba Prefecture, Japan).

Recently, Japan semiconductor manufacturer Rohm developed LED backlight driver ICs that incorporate an ultra-compact wafer-level chip scale package (WL-CSP), which are designed for small 1.6- to 4-inch LCDs in portable devices requiring high efficiency for maximum battery life.

Yesterday, Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd released a trimless LED lighting device — "Everleds Trimless Universal Downlight" in Japan.

Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd is gearing up to stimulate demand for LED lighting, to replace incandescent lamps used in commercial facilities with bulb type fluorescent lamps and LED lamps.

It’s reported JVC will unveil its new LED billboard next month that will be the first true 720p high definition display in New York’s Times Square.

It’s reported that Sharp Corporation and Nichia Corporation have entered into a patent cross-licensing agreement covering LEDs and laser diodes to respond to market demand for LED lighting products and Blu-ray Disc recorders.

Last Saturday, 4.5 million LEDs lit up the Nabana no Sato theme park of Kuwana, Japan, kicking off their annual Winter Light Show that runs until March 8th. The theme of this year is one of flowers, illuminated in 64 billion colors that actually resemble a river more than a field of blooming plants.                

It’s reported that Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd will launch about 300 kinds of new LED lighting products in spring 2009 to strengthen its LED lighting business.

Recently, Tokyo Electron Device Ltd has launched an RGB LED control driver - the TE7118PF, for LED control applications such as LCD backlights, indoor LED lightings, and LED illumination lights. The TE7118PF can handle high voltages and has a constant-current output in the range 5mA to 30mA which can be configured via an external resistor.

It’s reported that Nittoh Kogaku KK exhibited an LED light source module for use in low-power advertising signage as a reference at Kogen (light source) 2008, an exhibition that took place at Pacifico Yokohama from Oct 22 to 24, 2008.

The residential zone, "Azabu no Oka," is located in Miyoshicho, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and developed by Toyota Smile Life Inc. The roads and pathways in the zone, which has 204 housing plots, will be illuminated by LED lamps. It will take some time before the entire subdivision is completed, but LED lamps have been used since the start of the project.

It’s reported that India's US$1.5 billion lighting industry is growing 15% a year and bringing in new technologies. At the Light India International Exhibition and Conference early in 2008, the focus was on saving energy in lighting and the spotlight was on LEDs.

It’s reported that Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd exhibited a high-speed wireless communication system at CEATEC JAPAN 2008. It’s disclosed that utilizes a white LED.

It’s reported that Sumita Optical Glass Inc and Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd developed a glass-packaged white LED and showcased it at CEATEC JAPAN 2008.

it’s reported that Sony has an entire wall of its 11-inch XEL-1 OLED TVs set up here at Ceatec 2008, but in contrast with past gadget shows, it's not the only company showing off OLED prototypes. Panasonic may have said earlier this week that OLED is still far from becoming a mass-produced mainstream technology for use in big-screen TVs, but other electronics makers are plowing ahead with their own research on the organic, thin film technology: NEC, Sony, and KDDI showed off what they've been doing with OLED in their research labs.

On October 1, 2008, Korea Intellectual Property Tribunal ("KIPT") ruled that a patent, related to LED element, (Patent # KP 491482, hereinafter "'482 patent") owned by Nichia Corporation ("Nichia) is invalid based on lack of inventiveness.

Sharp Corporation will introduce into the Japanese market two models of solar-powered LED street lights that combine Sharp’s proprietary solar (photovoltaic) modules and high-intensity, long-life white LEDs (light emitting diodes). The LN-LW3A1 Solar-Powered LED Street Light delivers brightness at the industry’s highest level (instrument-measured luminous flux: 1,800 lumens) rivaling the light output from a regular 32-W fluorescent security light (which uses six compact fluorescent tubes) that is becoming the dominant product for this application.

Recently, Sony Corp announced a new product line of Bravia LCD TVs including the XR1 series, which has an RGB LED backlight unit. The company said that the XR1 series offers "the highest picture quality in the history of Bravia," and also has an extremely wide color gamut of 122% NTSC. It is scheduled for release on Oct 10, 2008, many of the details have yet to be released.

It’s reported that Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Corp announced it aims to generate sales of $1.8 billion from LED market by the business year to March 2013. Moreover, Sharp would enter the lighting gear market with energy-saving LED technology to establish a new earnings pillar in addition to its flat panel and solar cell businesses this month.

Recently, Matsushita Electric Works Ltd released insect-repellent lighting equipment-LED Light Up Lighting Equipment, whose "insect attraction index" is about two-thirds lower compared with the product of the same luminance. The company released two white-color types and two light bulb-color types of the lighting equipment Aug 25, 2008, in Japan.

It’s reported that the Bandai Group's Seeds Corp developed a LED lamp, through a cylindrical shade made of tracing paper or Japanese paper, looks like a burning and flickering candle.

Recently, Japan's Toshiba Corp and Matsushita joint venture to develop OLED displays with the world's longest product life span and lowest power consumption. The venture has developed the new panel in cooperation with Idemitsu Kosan Co, a Japanese oil refiner active in OLED materials development.

It’s reported that Showa Denko of Japan, a maker of hard disks and red LEDs, halted plans to expand production of the LEDs and hard disks.According to a Nikkei Net article, in December of 2007, Showa Denko announced plans to double its red aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) LED production to 200 million units per at its operations in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture by the end of 2008, and the company was planning to spend about 1.2 billion yen to raise the red LED production capacity.

Recently, at Rubicon Technology’s 2Q08 earnings conference call with industry analysts, the company's president and CEO discussed the future of the LED market. 

It’s reported that Sharp is introducing 6 new downlights and 5 new oblong/square energy-efficient LED fixtures for factories, offices, and commercial spaces to the Japanese market.  

It's reported that a 40-inch target is mass-produced and ready for retail in the same time frame. As always, Panasonic simply confirms that they're investing heavily into the tech and goes about their business.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will begin test production of next-generation displays for TVs next year with plans for commercial output as early as 2011. Competition is heating up among the world's electronics makers, including Japanese rival Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, in OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, displays.

It's reported Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. said that they will mass produce next-generation organic displays, spending roughly $140 million to cash in on the growing market for the ultra-thin screens On July 22.

It's reported TOKYO (AP) -- Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will start making next-generation displays at their joint plant by the second half of 2009.

Recently, Toshiba released new LED lights that are shaped like midget reflector and beam lamps.LED-based midget Reflector and Beam Lamps can be used with the existing light bulb sockets without any special adjustment because they have the E26 base. The new lights use Nichia Corp's LED. The light source comes in two types, with one incandescent and the other white. They are expected to be used as the illumination lighting for signboards, facilities and shops.