JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Will government pressure slash Japan's intricate web of smartphone fees?

People use smartphones in a subway train in Tokyo on May 4. The government is pressuring the leading mobile phone carriers in hopes of reducing consumer fees and reinvigorating competition in the industry. | AFP-JIJI

By Kazuaki Nagata
Staff Writer

May 13, 2019

Last August, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga dropped a bombshell remark that rattled Japan's mobile phone industry: "There is room to lower people's smartphone bills by around 40 percent."

In the wake of the remarks by the government's top spokesman, a bill aimed at facilitating competition among the top three carriers was deliberated and passed by the Diet last week.

On top of this, the industry expects to see Rakuten Inc. make an attempt to become Japan's fourth major carrier in October, challenging NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Corp.

Will government pressure slash Japan's intricate web of smartphone fees?

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