The government's deregulation package has gone through its second and final revisions, but little progress has been made in the area of telecommunication services, said Tsuruhiko Nanbu, a professor of economics at Gakushuin University.

"As far as the telecommunications sector is concerned, no drastic changes will take place as I see no notable deregulatory measures in the government's package," he said.

As one of the "salient" deregulatory measures in the telecommunications sector, the government has touted the abolition of foreign ownership in Japanese telecommunications companies, except NTT and KDD. The move, which was made in response to a recent telecommunications accord at the World Trade Organization, aims to enhance competition by opening the Japanese market to foreign competitors.