By Joseph Waring

KDDI, SoftBank Corp and Rakuten Mobile were among 180 Japanese organisations submitting a request to various government officials, including the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), opposing a move to scrap a law governing state-owned NTT Corp.

A joint statement urged the government to conduct more careful policy discussions, with the aim to establish “a fair and competitive environment” with NTT, which inherited assets and crucial facilities from its prior form as a public corporation, to “support innovation and regional revitalisation in Japan through diversified competition”.

While the signatories agree a review of telecoms policy should be considered to revitalise Japan’s IT and telecoms infrastructure, they oppose the outright abolition of the NTT act and called for careful consideration of the matter.

The country’s Telecoms Business Act and the NTT Law, which imposes responsibilities for the public good on the company and its subsidiaries, was enacted in 1984 to reform the centralised telecoms framework of the public corporation, with NTT established that year, the document noted.

Signatories believe both are required for a fair and competitive environment in Japan’s telecoms industry.

In August 2023, an MIC special committee and the Liberal Democratic Party started work on a plan covering the possible abolition of the NTT act and privatisation.

The government, through the Ministry of Finance, owns a 34.3 per cent stake of NTT shares.