These are two completely different phenomena, which have no direct relationship to each other. The spread of discount stores can mean the decline in relative prices of the goods that can be purchased there. So the fact that shoes are available at a lower price in a discount store than in a traditional shoe store is not typically recorded as a fall in the price of shoes. By contrast, a fall in the price level means that prices of goods in general are falling. This would mean that the price of the goods sold in traditional retail outlets, as well as the prices of other goods and services, are falling.
Deflation raises a very different set of issues than the spread of discount stores.
While the availability of low cost goods offers many benefits to consumers, deflation can be extremely harmful, especially for an economy in a slump like Japan's. Because nominal interest rates cannot be negative, deflation raises the real interest rate at a time when Japan badly needs low interest rates to stimulate the economy. Deflation has also worsened the debt burden of many Japanese firms and banks, as well as the government. This article discusses the state of negotiation between the United States and Jordan on a new trade pact. Newspaper reporting should take a more neutral stance on these pacts.