TV Asahi in Sweden and Norway


TV Asahi is showing beatuiful scenery from Sweden and Norway every evening these days. Lots of snow and forests and kids iceskating on lakes. Take a look!

I'm surprised how interested Japanese people are in my native part of the world. Bio City did an issue on The Sustainable World in Scandinavia and with IKEA opening its first shop in Chiba on April 24, we are seeing a lot of stories about Scandinavian design as well. Instead of a massive (and expnesive) ad campaign, IKEA was clever and sponsored 4.5, showing how people can use the 4.5 tatami mat room in a novel way.

Volvo is making headlines here too, as the truck maker (still an independent Swedish company) became the largest shareholder in Nissan Diesel, and is about to open up markets in China if they can buy the Dongfeng Group. The Volvo Group this month introduced a hybrid solution for trucks and buses, which offers fuel savings of up to 35 percent: "We envisage opportunities to accelerate developments in commercially viable hybrids for heavy vehicles. This can be significant for both our customers and for the environment," says President and CEO of Volvo, Leif Johansson, according to Privata Affärer.

For some fancy videos of Volvo's environmentally friendly trucks click here!

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