Also why not 24vdc for all lighting circuits ?
And 24vdc for the majority of interior power outlets.
I mean to say, how many home appliances need 15Amps @ 115vac capability or couldn't be made to work with 480 watts which would be like 20A @ 24vdc ?
All in the interest of safety and less CSA/UL intervention with Safe Extra Low Voltage (SELV) classifications.
Avoiding CSA/UL approval could also mean that the excuse for requiring wall warts would be a thing of the past.
T2

This is in Japan and not the USA.

This is in Japan and not the USA.

If Japan is getting ready for the Electric Car, do you want your country left out of tomorrows technology?

All you really need is a waterproof extension lead with some smart timing - even to start after 11pm or whenever the low cost charging comes on.

I imagine a nation that went to the moon in 1969 could manage that.

You could then add some signaling which would further optimise the charging times - like when there was lots of wind energy or solar or just at weekends.

With all the advances in keyless-entry systems, you would think that it would be possible to design an outlet which would only turn on when a signal from one of its designated vehicles was present.

Reality: A good idea. The vehicle ID directs the kWhs consumed to customer's grid account. Cashless charging.

At least the Japanese are also formulating plans to alter the standard grid connection e.g. solar/ESU units. The adoption of Residential Power Units approaches.

I have a few 110 volt outlets outside.
I told the contractor to be sure NOT to make them 220 volt or I would be innundated by power burglers.
He said "Good idea" and left quickly.
If the 6% of new car that are hybrid, "transfer" to PHEVs, what will the other 94% of the new homeowners use their 200 v outlets for?

Got a few uses for that powerpoint.

Mow the front lawn with your electric lawnmower
Light up the faux Santa's sleigh at Christmas

ummmm ... that's it....

In the US there could be a combination outlet and that could be done in Japan too. In the US it would be a 120 240 volt combination so that power garden tools can be used. Also an electric grill instead of propane can use the 240. A simple switch in the house can disable the power. If a superfast charge is wanted then there should be a battery at home that can use cheap power at night but be available at all times for a quick burst. An ordinary US outlet can give twelve miles of charge every hour. Some statistic says that most commute trips are under 35 miles and that is only three hours of charging. Plug-in-hybrids take all of the worry out of electric cars. No full electric cars should be built. No hundred mile batteries are needed. They are not worth the expense. Methanol made from recycled CO2 and hydrogen can be the fuel. Get hydrogen from coal if necessary. Sell any excess CO2 to oil companies. ..HG..

I was referring to a public smart outlet - not one at home. Doh!

And just to make sure I look extra dumb along comes the world's largest electric car project - Daimler's "e-mobility Berlin."

"The (500) charge points will have the ability to communicate with the car attain vehicle ID for the purpose of billing the driver for electricity use. Daimler will deploy at least 100 battery powered Smart and Mercedes cars for this program."

Reality Czech - quit getting it right!

On that getting it right thing,
Educators call it congruence.
Working knowledge in the toolkit applied to problem solving given the same problem, diverse, (geographically or disciplinary) people will likely find solutions that are consistent so similar.
Anyway the word is congruence.