A polarizer is provided on the upper side of a liquid crystal panel, and a light scattering member and a polarized light separator are provided in turn on the lower side of the liquid crystal panel. Of light incident on the upper side of the polarized light separator, a linearly polarized light component parallel to the drawings is transmitted, a linearly polarized light component perpendicular to the drawings is reflected, and for light incident on the lower side thereof, a linearly polarized light component parallel to the drawings can be emitted upward. When the switch is off, the external light incident on the display device is reflected by the polarized light separator to obtain a bright display, and when the switch is on, the incident external light is transmitted through the polarized light separator to obtain a dark display. When the switch is off, light from a light source is transmitted through the polarized light separator and absorbed by the polarizer to obtain dark display, and when the switch is on, the light is transmitted through the polarized light separator and through the polarizer to obtain a bright display.