Editing Communications in Japan

{{Short description|Japanese government body of communication}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
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[[File:Government Office Complex 2 of Japan 2009.jpg|thumb|right|225px|This Tokyo complex houses the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]], which administers Japanese cellphone networks while also providing many other services.]]

Japan has one of the world's most modern communication networks, with strong mobile and internet growth. In 2008, 75 million Japanese consumers (82% of all internet users) used mobile phones to access the Internet. The country's communication infrastructure includes significant telephone and IP services, broadband internet uptake, and major mobile networks run by NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten Mobile. Founded on early postal innovations and impacted by worldwide technical advances, Japan's communication landscape is constantly modernizing and vital to its social and economic progress.

==Overview of communication services==
===Telephone services===
'''Telephones and ISDN – main lines in use:''' 52.3981 million (2007)<ref name="soumu.go.jp">{{Cite web
| title = Status of Number of Subscribers to Telecommunications Services
| publisher = Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)
| url = http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/Statistics/pdf/080227_1.pdf
| access-date = 19 March 2008 }}</ref>

'''[[IP phone]] lines in use:''' 16.766 million (2007)<ref name="soumu.go.jp"/>

'''Mobile and [[Personal Handy-phone System|PHS]] lines in use:''' 105.297 million (2007)<ref name="soumu.go.jp"/>
:''international:'' satellite earth stations – 5 [[Intelsat]] (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 [[Intersputnik]] (Indian Ocean region), and 1 [[Inmarsat]] (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submerged cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via [[Guam]])

====Mobile phone services====
{{Main|Mobile phone industry in Japan}}
There are four nationwide mobile phone service providers: [[NTT Docomo]], [[KDDI]], [[SoftBank]], and [[Rakuten Mobile]].

===Radio and television broadcasting===
'''Radio broadcast stations:''' [[Amplitude modulation|AM]] 190, [[Frequency modulation|FM]] 88, [[shortwave]] 24 (1999)

'''Radios:''' 120.5 million (1997)

'''Television broadcast stations:''' 7,108 (plus 441 repeaters; note – in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services) (1999)

'''Televisions:''' 86.5 million (1997)

'''[[Amateur radio]]:''' 446,602 licensed stations as of October 2011.<ref name="mic-musen-stats">{{cite web|script-title=ja:無線局統計情報|trans-title=Radio Station Statistics|url=http://www.tele.soumu.go.jp/j/musen/toukei/index.htm|date=October 2011|language=ja|access-date=20 January 2012|publisher=[[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]]}}</ref> See [[Amateur radio call signs of Japan]].

===Internet services===
*'''[[Internet Service Provider]]s (ISPs):''' 357 (1999)
*'''Internet Service Providers via [[Cable network]]:''' 334 (June 2004)
*'''Number of Portable Phone Users with the Internet Access:''' 71,044,000 (June 2004)

Number of Broadband Users by Access (April 2005)
*'''Number of the [[xDSL]] Users:''' 13,675,840 lines
*'''Number of the [[FTTH]] Users:''' 2,852,205 lines
*'''Number of the [[CATV]] Service Users:''' 2,959,712 lines

Number of Broadband Users by Access (June 2004)
*'''Number of the [[xDSL]] Users:''' 12,068,718 lines
*'''Number of the [[FTTH]] Users:''' 1,417,483 lines
*'''Number of the [[CATV]] Service Users:''' 2,702,000 lines
*'''Number of the [[Dial-up]] Users:''' 17,730,000 lines

Number of Broadband Users by Access (June 2002)
*'''Number of the [[xDSL]] Users:''' 3,300,926 lines
*'''Number of the [[FTTH]] Users:''' 84,903 lines
*'''Number of the [[CATV]] Service Users:''' 1852000 lines
*'''Number of the [[Dial-up]] Users:''' 20,390,000 lines

'''[[Country codes|Country code]] (Top-level domain):''' JP

{{See also|Broadband Internet access worldwide#Japan}}

=== Postal services ===
{{Main|Postage stamps and postal history of Japan}}
[[File:Japan Mailbox Red.jpg|thumb|right|225px|A [[postbox]] in Japan as pictured in 2005. Note the double-bar symbol, the [[Japanese postal mark|country's postal mark]], on the front.]]
Japan's first modern postal service got started in 1871, with mail professionally traveling between [[Kyoto]] and Tokyo as well as the latter city and [[Osaka]]. This took place in the midst of the rapid industrialization and social reorganization that the [[Meiji period]] symbolized in [[History of Japan|Japanese history]]. Given how the nation's railroad technology was in its infancy, Japan's growing postal system relied heavily on [[human-powered transport]], including [[Pulled rickshaw|rickshaws]], as well as [[Horse-powered transport|horse-drawn]] methods of delivery. For example, while commemorating the 50th anniversary of Japan's postal service, the country's 1921 government released decorative [[postcard]]s depicting intrepid [[Equestrianism|horseback riders]] carrying the mail.<ref name="Mosk">{{Cite book|title=Japanese Industrial History: Technology, Urbanization, and Economic Growth|first=Carl|last=Mosk|date=2000|pages=66–68|publisher=[[M.E. Sharpe]]|isbn=9780765638557}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldtokyo.com/japan-postal-service-50th-anniversary-commemorative-postcard-1921/|title=Japan Postal Service 50th Anniversary commemorative postcard, 1921. - Old Tokyo|website=oldtokyo.com|date=26 May 2016 }}</ref>

In communication terms, British technicians had already been employed in assisting with Japanese [[lighthouses]], and the country's budding mail system looked to hybridize British ideas with local practicalities. Shipping along the [[Coastline of Japan|nation's coastline]] in particular demonstrates a key instance of how the [[Economy of Japan|Japanese economy]] developed: the government closely working with private companies to industrially expand in a way that met social needs while also allowing for large profits. [[Mitsubishi]]'s contract for mail transport by sea proved lucrative enough that it assisted with the firm becoming one of the famous "[[zaibatsu]]".<ref name="Mosk" />

Since 2007, the nation's post offices have been managed by the firm [[Japan Post Network]], which, in turn, is a part of the larger [[Japan Post Holdings]] [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]]. As of December 2017, the smaller company has been managed by CEO Koji Furukawa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=39099372|title=Japan Post Network Co., Ltd.: Private Company Information|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> The simple [[Japanese postal mark]], predating [[Literacy in Japan|mass literacy in the nation]], is still used to this day.

==General background and history==
{{Expand section|date=January 2018}}
{{See also|History of Japan}}
[[File:Mutsuhito-Emperor-Meiji-1873.png|right|thumb|250px|[[Emperor Meiji]], photographed in military dress by [[Uchida Kuichi]], presided over a time of massive industrialization, with the [[Meiji period]] establishing the roots of modern Japanese communications.]]
An example of the dawn of modern Japanese communications is the shift in newspaper publication. News vendors of the [[Tokugawa period]], taking place from 1603 to 1867, typically promoted publications by reading the contents aloud and handed out papers that were [[Woodblock printing in Japan|printed from hand-graven blocks]]. Widespread adoption of [[movable type]] took place as Japanese society modernized. In particular, ''[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]'', a national daily newspaper that became the country's largest by [[Newspaper circulation|circulation]], was founded in 1874 and designed to be read in detail using standard [[Japanese language|Japanese vernacular]]. Five such dailies got started early in the [[Meiji period]], taking place from 1868 to 1912. ''Yomiuri'' specifically took direct influence from [[Newspapers in the United States|American publications]] controlled by [[William Randolph Hearst]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yomiuri-shimbun|title=Yomiuri shimbun – Japanese newspaper}}</ref>

The first such mass newspaper to be founded was the ''Nagasaki Shipping List & Advertiser'', established in 1861 in [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] by the Englishman A.W. Hansard. Its first issue ran 22 June of that year. The newspaper, which notably discussed matters in the English language, laid the groundwork for Hansard's later publication ''Japan Herald''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallery.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/nsla/index.html|title=The Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser|website=gallery.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp}}</ref>

The broadcast industry has been dominated by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai—[[NHK]]) since its founding in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/japan-broadcasting-corporation-nippon-hoso-kyokai |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

In the postwar period, NHK's budget and operations were under the purview of the [[Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Japan)|Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications]], the [[Broadcasting Law]] of 1950 provides for independent management and programming by NHK. Television broadcasting began in 1953, and [[color television]] was introduced in 1960. Cable television was introduced in 1969. In 1978 an experimental broadcast satellite with two color television channels was launched. Operational satellites for television use were launched between 1984 and 1990. Television viewing spread so rapidly that, by 1987, 99 percent of Japan's households had color television sets and the average family had its set on at least five hours a day. Starting in 1987, NHK began full-scale experimental broadcasting on two channels using satellite-to-audience signals, thus bringing service to remote and mountainous parts of the country that earlier had experienced poor reception. The new system also provided twenty-four hours a day, nonstop service.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In the late 1980s, NHK operated two public television and three radio networks nationally, producing about 1,700 programs per week. Its general and education programs were broadcast through more than 6,900 television stations and nearly 330 AM and more than 500 FM radio transmitting stations. Comprehensive service in twenty-one languages is available throughout the world.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Rapid improvements, innovations, and diversification in communications technology, including optical fiber cables, communications satellites, and [[fax]] machines, led to rapid growth of the communications industry in the 1980s. [[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone]] Corporation, owned by the government until 1985, had dominated the communications industry until April 1985, when new common carriers, including [[Daini Denden]], were permitted to enter the field. [[NTT Worldwide Telecommunications Corp]] ([[Kokusai Denshin Denwa]] Company, commonly known as KDD, now part of [[KDDI]] Inc.) lost its monopoly hold on international communications activities in 1989, when [[Nihon Kokusai Tsushin]] and other private overseas communications firms began operations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Japan Internet and E-Commerce Investment and Business Guide |date=2018 |publisher=International Business Publications USA |isbn=978-1-4330-2656-0 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpqtDwAAQBAJ&dq=NTT+Worldwide+Telecommunications+Corp+%28Kokusai+Denshin+Denwa+Company%2C+commonly+known+as+KDD%2C+now+part+of+KDDI+Inc.%29+lost+its+monopoly+hold+on+international+communications+activities+in+1989%2C+when+Nihon+Kokusai+Tsushin+and+other+private+overseas+communications+firms+began+operations&pg=PA41 |access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

In 1992 Japan also had more than 12,000 televisions stations, and the country had more than 350 radio stations, 300 AM radio stations and 58 FM. Broadcasting innovations in the 1980s included sound multiplex (two-language or stereo) broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and in 1985 the University of the Air and teletext services were inaugurated.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Japan has been the world leader in telecommunications in the 1980s, but this position that has been challenged by the United States' [[dot-com company|dot-com]] industry in the 1990s and the emerging [[Four Asian Tigers|tiger states]] in Asia. While the United States is leading in digital content, South Korea is leading in broadband access, India is leading in software, and Taiwan is leading in research and development.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Japan went into the 21st century after achieving widespread saturation with telecommunication devices. For instance, by 2008 the government's [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry]] stated that about 75 million people used mobile phones to access the Internet, accounting for about 82% of individual internet users.<ref name="Cell phone">{{cite web |last=Nagata |first=Kazuaki |date=2 September 2009 |title=Cell phone culture here unlike any other |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/09/02/reference/cell-phone-culture-here-unlike-any-other/ |work=Japan Times}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan|Telecommunication}}
* [[Economy of Japan]]
** [[Economic history of Japan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Japan topics}}
{{Asia topic|Communications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}

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[[Category:Communications in Japan| ]]