On the eve of their merger, the heads of Japan Telecom Co. and International Telecom Japan Inc. said Sept. 30 the new firm aims at becoming a leading company in the industry by offering seamless services from domestic to international services at lower prices than competitors.

Amid stiff competition at home and abroad, Japan Telecom, the nation's No. 2 long-distance telephone company, and ITJ, the nation's No. 3 international carrier, merge into one company today to become the nation's first firm to offer international, long-distance and local services. "By connecting our networks, we will be able to reduce our costs," said Koichi Sakata, president of Japan Telecom. "It is our task to make the equation of 1 plus 1 equal 3."

Sakata will take the same position at the new company, which will be known as Japan Telecom. It aims at annual sales of 500 billion yen by the 1999 business year, up from 400 billion yen this year, according to a company spokesman.