Japan's CEATEC Show Posts Record Attendance

Japan's Ceatec exhibition ended its annual five-day run on Saturday with record attendance for the 2007 event, organizers said Sunday.

The event drew 205,859 people to Makuhari Messe in Chiba, near Tokyo, of which 165,303 were attendees, 38,705 were exhibitors and 1,851 were press, according to official figures. Organizers base attendance figures on registrations so people who attend more than one day of the event are not counted twice.

Those figures confirm its place as one of the world's largest consumer electronics fairs.

It's the first time the event has broken the 200,000 figure -- a goal the organizers have had for the last three years. Last year's event attracted 194,267 visitors and the 2005 event drew 199,680 people.

Visitors saw the latest in consumer electronics, cell phones and the parts that go into such products on display by 895 companies including 348 international exhibitors from 20 countries.

Among popular draws this year was an 11-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) television that Sony Corp. plans to launch later this year in Japan. Thin LCD (liquid crystal display) sets from Sharp Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Victor Co.of Japan Ltd. (JVC) also attracted lines of admirers. The show also highlighted the latest Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD recorders and a number of prototype products including a fuel-cell powered music player.

Ceatec 2008 is scheduled to run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 and will be held again at Makuhari Messe.