HDTV Vs. Hi-Vision

I was checking out the TVs yesterday at Bic Camera, a bit curious to see what HDTV-enabled sets go for these days. I didn’t notice anything that mentioned HDTV specifically, but what looked like high-definition sets were always referred to as Hi-Vision. Are these one and the same? Is High-Vision simply the way HDTV gets branded in Japan, or is it something else altogether?