Regulatory Developments The Japanese Government was largely successful in implementing the national "IT Strategy" goal of making Japan a leader in IT by the year 2005. Internet access costs have decreased dramatically and access to broadband infrastructure is now amongst the most developed in the world. Following this success, in 2006, the e-Japan Strategy devised by the IT Strategic Headquarters set out to improve the hyper-speed network infrastructure, competition policy, e-commerce, and e-government. The agenda also includes a new competition framework underway in a special committee on the "Optimum Competition Policies for the Telecommunications Industry to Promote the IT Revolution". The Japanese government is also considering strategic measures to further strengthen their competitive edge in the global telecommunications market, in terms of research, development, standardization and structure of the domestic market. The EBC appreciates the opportunity to contribute to Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) policy committees as an official participant and respects the Government's overall commitment to an industry-led, global approach to standards and platform development. Important steps have been taken to facilitate the product approval process firstly, by signing an EU-Japan Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for telecommunications terminal equipment in 2001 and, secondly, by introducing a Supplier's Self Verification of Conformity in 2004. Despite these significant achievements, however, implementation to date has been disappointing. The number of accredited testing bodies designated under the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) remains low and the self verification of conformity still applies only to wired telecommunications terminals, with limited application to wireless/radio equipment. Shortcomings in public sector procurement practices must also be addressed, if the public sector is to benefit from genuinely competitive product offerings. Fragmented qualifying procedures, sole sourcing, and selectively disclosed specifications for certain projects continue to inhibit foreign firms from supplying Japanese government entities with telecommunications equipment. The EBC urges the Japanese government to make further improvements to areas such as disclosure, bid criteria/performance specifications, qualification procedures, and open bidding procedures to ensure that public sector procurement of foreign telecommunications equipment keeps pace with the private sector. Prospects for EU-Japan Economic Integration Japan is the second largest telecommunications equipment market in the world. Telecommunications equipment accounts for 12.5% of Japan's total industrial output worth an estimated 108 billion euros. Structural reforms under the Government of Japan's IT Strategy have supported the introduction of a high-speed, large-capacity IT infrastructure, lowering of communications rates, and the development of e-commerce and e-government. The EBC urges the Government of Japan to further strengthen international competitiveness, innovation and productivity in the sector by stimulating competition, opening up public procurement, and adopting global product standards. With the view of deepening the economic integration between the EU and Japan, duplication of telecom equipment products certification for the European and Japanese markets should be eliminated. An economic integration agreement between the EU and Japan should establish true mutual acceptance in which telecommunications equipment products certified for either the European or Japanese markets would automatically be approved in the other. The current framework provides only for recognised certification organisations to test for both markets. Priorities
Key Issues and Recommendations ■ Establishing common technical standards and certification procedures Yearly status report: some progress. Although the details are not substantially different, the EU and Japan maintain different technical standards for the same products, which means double testing and certification for manufacturers. The current EU- Japan Mutual Recognition Agreement provides only for recognised certification organisations to test for both markets. The certification process in Japan is also different from Europe. The EBC welcomed the introduction of Self Verification of Conformity by the Japanese Government at the beginning of 2004, which is similar to the Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) introduced in Europe. However, the EBC is disappointed that this system is limited to wired telecommunications terminals with limited application to wireless/radio equipment, and that the application has not been expanded to other telecommunication equipment. Recommendation:
■ Harmonization in spectrum for IMT-Advanced (systems beyond IMT-2000) Yearly status report: no progress. The International Telecom Union plans to identify spectrum for IMT-Advanced and IMT-2000 according to the Agenda Item 1.4 of the World Radio Communication Conference in 2007. The EBC acknowledges that the Japanese Government has been active in trying to identify a globally harmonized spectrum identification system for IMT-Advanced. This system would bring enormous benefits to the industry and consumers by eliminating the need to develop local variations of new telecommunication equipment while the economy of scale would lower prices on products and facilitate international roaming. Recommendation:
■ Network neutrality Yearly status report: new issue. The Japanese Government is discussing a new framework of rules to ensure network neutrality in the Internet and Next Generation Networking (NGN). It is widely argued that such a framework would grant users (consumers) so-called "net freedoms" such as access to all lawful Internet content, freedom to run applications/services of their choice, freedom to connect the equipment of their choice to the network, and freedom to take advantage of competitive offers, as long as these actions do not disturb the network or degrade its performance. Recommendation:
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