In the renewable energy industry, how does Japan compare with the rest of the world?

While Japan was long the world's leader in both domestic solar-power output and the manufacture of solar- power equipment, it lost its top spot in 2005 just as the market surged, mostly in Europe.

Here, Kimio Yamaka, chief researcher and director general of the economic and industrial research department at the semi-governmental Development Bank of Japan, answers some key questions concerning this fast-changing sector in an interview with Tomoko Otake.