NEWSWORTHY
The Diet enacted a legal revision Friday aimed at lowering mobile phone fees and spurring competition in the country's saturated telecoms market. Amid criticism that Japan's carriers charge too much compared with those in other countries, the bill passed by the Upper House to amend ...
KDDI set to launch smartphone payment service, joining rivals SoftBank and Docomo
The au Pay service will utilize QR codes and loyalty points, and be available through its electronic money app, which is reloadable via bank accounts or other sources.
Sony to conduct tests on remotely driven cars with NTT Docomo
Sony Corp. and NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday they will start conducting joint tests in Guam this summer on remotely driven cars using next-generation 5G services. The New Concept Cart SC-1 developed by Sony will be tested at Docomo 5G Open Lab GUAM — NTT ...
Drones retain their buzz at Japanese trade show, with industrial uses expected to bolster growth
With the market for business-use unmanned aircraft looking promising in coming years, a large-scale drone expo that kicked off Wednesday showed more companies are eager to get involved with the industry. Companies ranging from the small to the powerful are showing off their business solutions ...
Japan's top three mobile carriers and Rakuten apply for 5G band allocation
The country's three major mobile carriers and e-commerce operator Rakuten Inc. have applied for the allocation of a mobile phone frequency band to introduce next-generation 5G wireless services, the communications ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will review plans by NTT ...
Buoys, fisheries and aquaculture join the internet of things
Combining technology and data, the "internet of things" matches supply and demand, increasing the chances of unwanted fish being returned to the sea alive and making seafood more sustainable.
Defining the Heisei Era: When communication in Japan went mobile
The launch of a pager known as the Pocket Bell marked the birth of texting and mobile communications in Japan.
NTT to invest ¥3 trillion on research and 5G mobile network systems
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said Tuesday it will invest ¥3 trillion ($26 billion) over the next five years on advanced research activities and next-generation 5G mobile communications networks. Under its medium-term business strategy, unveiled the same day, the telecommunications giant will also seek to ...
NTT Docomo to lower mobile phone fees after government call for charges to be cut
The decision comes after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in August that national charges should be reduced by 40 percent.
NTT Docomo to launch world's 'thinnest and lightest' phone in November
For years, electronics giants have been developing smartphones with increasingly larger screens. Bucking the trend for phones to be bigger and flashier is a handset set to debut next month from NTT Docomo Inc. that can fit in your business card case. Docomo, the country's ...
What would a 40% cut to phone bills mean for Japan's mobile carriers?
Japan's mobile carriers have come under government scrutiny for high phone bills that have helped bring years of enviable profit margins and given them a combined market value of more than $250 billion. One of the most senior figures in government raised the possibility of ...
Mobile phone operators take ¥1 trillion blow after Suga says bills could be cut 40%
Wireless carriers tumbled in Tokyo after the government's spokesman said they have room to cut phone bills by about 40 percent, sparking concern that lawmakers will renew a push for greater competition in a sector dominated by three big players. The declines wiped about ¥1 ...
