Japan's 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat - moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night. The district of Saitama, which borders Tokyo, may follow in the footsteps of the western city of Kyoto and urge convenience stores to close during late night hours in an effort to limit carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）emissions, Japanese media reported.
Kyoto, a former capital, wants to persuade convenience and other 24-hour stores to close late at night so as to improve evening views of the city and cut down on energy use. The Nikkei business daily said closures could last from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The move is strongly opposed by the industry, which fears a bad impact on an already troubled sector also grappling with the specter of a higher tobacco tax, which could hit overall sales.
"Even if we only operate the stores for 16 hours, we can't stop the refrigerators," said Toshiro Yamaguchi, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co, which is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, at a news conference in Saitama on Tuesday. He said such cuts in operating hours would reduce each store's profit by 20 percent. "If this happens, our current business model will lose its foundation."
Analysts said that while it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of the move without a concrete plan, their overall impression was that it was likely to be negative. "This could cut profits and lead to less efficient operations and the increased loss of opportunities," said Masafumi Shoda, an analyst at Nomura Securities. "But it depends on the store -- urban stores do better than others. There are some in the countryside that are inefficient."
Some have suggested that if governments were sincere about reducing carbon emissions there were much more efficient methods, such as cutting back on the huge number of automatic vending machines（自动售货机）
68. Which of the followings was the first to try to limit convenience store hours?
A. Saitama B. Tokyo C. Kyoto D. Nomura Security
69. What's the main goal of the proposal?
A. To give employees more free time.
B. To limit carbon dioxide emissions.
C. To sell more tobacco products.
D. To reduce each store’s profit.
70. How's the convenience store sector doing in Japan?
A. It is not mentioned.
B. It's doing great. Business is booming.
C. Not very well.
D. It’s about to close.
