After an inauspicious debut just a few years ago, plasma-display TVs have become one of the hottest home appliances around.
Plasma displays were considered too expensive for general consumers when they first hit the market, but they are now nudging cheaper, bulkier cathode ray tubes out of the living room.
"We have seen a four- to five-fold increase in sales of plasma display TVs in recent months," said Yukihiro Matsuura, branch manager of home appliance chain Kojima in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward.