Japan, once a leader in manufacturing, has lost its competitive edge in various electronics products, including televisions, video recorders and portable music players.
Now it may be poised to concede one of its long-time strongholds: the digital still camera market. Japan reportedly held 80 percent of the global market as of 2012.
The digital camera market has been rapidly shrinking due to the exploding growth of smartphones with advanced built-in cameras, forcing Japanese makers to abandon their low-end lineups and focus more of their resources on high-end products, including single-lens reflex cameras and mirrorless nonreflex cameras with interchangeable lenses.