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The electronics giant is turning to rechargeable batteries and waterless washing machines, writes David McNeillin Tokyo

RIDING THE Shinkansen Bullet Train out of Tokyo along the eastern industrial corridor towards Osaka has long been one of the best and most pleasurable ways to experience Japan's high-tech economy. Electronics giant Sanyo has added another attraction to the route: as the train barrels along at 270km/h (168m/h), it passes Sanyo's Solar Ark, a futuristic 15m (50ft) -wide solar building that rises out of the landscape like a giant black boombox near the industrial city of Nagoya.