There is growing interest in East Japan Railway Co. ltd., one of the six companies, create

d out of the privatized national railway system. In an industry lacking exciting growth__1__, its plan to use real-estate assets in and around train stations__2__is drawing interest.

In a plan called “Station Renaissance” that it__3__in November, JR East said that it would__4__using its commercial spaces for shops and restaurants, extending them to__5__more suitable for the information age. It wants train stations as pick-up__6__for such goods as books, flowers and groceries__7__over the Internet. In a country where city__8__depend heavily on trains__9__commuting, about 16 million people a day go to its train stations anyway, the company __10__. So, picking up commodities at train stations__11__consumers extra travel and missed home deliveries. JR East already has been using its station__12__stores for this purpose, but it plans to create__13__spaces for the delivery of Internet goods.

The company also plans to introduce __14__cards—known in Japan as IC cards because they use integrated circuit for__15__information__16__ train tickets and commuter passes__17__the magnetic ones used today, integrating them into a/an __18__pass. This will save the company money, because__19__for IC cards are much less expensive than magnetic systems. Increased use of IC cards should also__20__the space needed for ticket vending.

A.perspectives

B.outlooks

C.prospects

D.spectacles