This paper aims to review the process of mobile phone operators agreeing to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) in Japan. A study group formed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications estimated the proportion of MNP users and analyzed the user benefits and associated costs to...

Telecommuting, a dispersed style of commuting enabled by developments in info-communication technology, is becoming increasingly popular among Japanese white-collar employees. According to our estimates, 9-14 million employees will telecommute by 2010, which will result in a 6.9-10.9% reduction...

Universal service is governed by a regulatory framework that guarantees nationwide access to basic telephone service over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The ongoing network migration to IP networks, however, poses the question of how the existing framework would accommodate this...