The monthly fee for 20 gigabytes of mobile phone data in Tokyo is the second lowest among six major cities across the globe, a government survey showed Tuesday, following sharp price cuts by Japanese wireless carriers under government pressure.
The cost in Tokyo from a representative provider was ¥2,973 ($27) per month in the latest survey conducted in March, only higher than London's ¥2,166. In the previous survey conducted last year, the Japanese capital saw the highest fee, at ¥8,175.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications compared the price of the most reasonable large data plans provided by leading wireless carriers in six major cities: Tokyo, New York, London, Dusseldorf, Paris and Seoul.
The German city had the highest fee — ¥8,325 — in the latest survey.
NTT Docomo Inc.'s discounted plan — Ahamo, launched in late March — was selected to represent Tokyo in the latest survey.
For 2GB and 5GB plans, the Japanese capital had the third lowest monthly fee after London and Paris at ¥2,973, the same price as the Ahamo 20GB plan.
NTT Docomo's rivals KDDI Corp., the operator of the au brand, and SoftBank Corp. also launched their own discounted large data plans in March after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga repeatedly demanded mobile service operators cut fees.