Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the nation's biggest phone company, holds a unique place in corporate Japan.
Although relatively unknown internationally, the carrier has topped all of Japan's more recognizable global companies in profit for the past two years despite having to compete in a cutthroat telecommunications market.
Often hit as monopolistic because it was public-run when it debuted in 1952 and is still under partial government control, NTT was nominally privatized in 1985 and broken up in 1999. Criticism of its dominance has continued, however, and the juggernaut remains a political football for high-powered politicians eager to keep votes.