![Government Office Complex 2 of Japan 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Government_Office_Complex_2_of_Japan_2009.jpg)
The nation of Japan currently possesses one of the most advanced communication networks in the world. For example, by 2008 the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
's
Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry stated that about 75 million people used
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s to access the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, said total accounting for about 82% of individual Internet users.
Overview of communication services
Telephone services
Telephones and ISDN – main lines in use: 52.3981 million (2007)
IP phone
A VoIP phone or IP phone uses voice over IP technologies for placing and transmitting telephone calls over an IP network, such as the Internet. This is in contrast to a standard phone which uses the traditional public switched telephone network ...
lines in use: 16.766 million (2007)
Mobile and
PHS lines in use: 105.297 million (2007)
:''international:'' satellite earth stations – 5
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
(4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1
Intersputnik
The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, commonly known as Intersputnik, is an international satellite communications services organization founded on 15 November 1971, in Moscow by the Soviet Union along with a group of ...
(Indian Ocean region), and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submerged cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
)
Mobile phone services
There are four nationwide mobile phone service providers:
NTT DoCoMo,
KDDI
() is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed on October 1, 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp. (Daini-Denden Inc.), KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa) Corp. (itself a former listed state-owned enterprise privatized in 1998), and IDO Corp. It h ...
,
Ymobile
Y!mobile is a Japanese mobile phone operator. Y!mobile is a brand used by SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group Corporation, that provides mobile telecommunications and ADSL services. The current CEO o ...
, and Rakuten mobile.
Radio and television broadcasting
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 190,
FM 88,
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
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
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
: 446,602 licensed stations as of October 2011.
See
Amateur radio call signs of Japan.
Internet services
*
Internet Service Provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s (ISPs): 357 (1999)
*Internet Service Providers via
Cable network
Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, opt ...
: 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
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...
Users: 13,675,840 lines
*Number of the
FTTH
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber op ...
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
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...
Users: 12,068,718 lines
*Number of the
FTTH
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber op ...
Users: 1,417,483 lines
*Number of the
CATV Service Users: 2,702,000 lines
*Number of the
Dial-up
Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...
Users: 17,730,000 lines
Number of Broadband Users by Access (June 2002)
*Number of the
xDSL
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...
Users: 3,300,926 lines
*Number of the
FTTH
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber op ...
Users: 84,903 lines
*Number of the
CATV Service Users: 1852000 lines
*Number of the
Dial-up
Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...
Users: 20,390,000 lines
Country code (Top-level domain): JP
Postal services
![Japan Mailbox Red](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Japan_Mailbox_Red.jpg)
Japan's first modern postal service got started in 1871, with mail professionally traveling between
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
and Tokyo as well as the latter city and
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
. This took place in the midst of the rapid industrialization and social reorganization that the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
symbolized in
Japanese history. Given how the nation's railroad technology was in its infancy, Japan's growing postal system relied heavily on
human-powered transport
Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming. Modern techno ...
, including
rickshaws, as well as
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
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s depicting intrepid
horseback riders
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...
carrying the mail.
In communication terms, British technicians had already been employed in assisting with Japanese
lighthouses
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mark ...
, and the country's budding mail system looked to hybridize British ideas with local practicalities. Shipping along the
nation's coastline in particular demonstrates a key instance of how the
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
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
's contract for mail transport by sea proved lucrative enough that it assisted with the firm becoming one of the famous "
zaibatsu".
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
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** Co ...
. As of December 2017, the smaller company has been managed by CEO Koji Furukawa. The simple
Japanese postal mark, predating
mass literacy in the nation, is still used to this day.
General background and history
![Mutsuhito-Emperor-Meiji-1873](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Mutsuhito-Emperor-Meiji-1873.png)
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
printed from hand-graven blocks. Widespread adoption of
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...
took place as Japanese society modernized. In particular, ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
'', a national daily newspaper that became the country's largest by
circulation, was founded in 1874 and designed to be read in detail using standard
Japanese vernacular. Five such dailies got started early in the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, taking place from 1868 to 1912. ''Yomiuri'' specifically took direct influence from
American publications controlled by
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
.
The first such mass newspaper to be founded was the ''Nagasaki Shipping List & Advertiser'', established in 1861 in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
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''.
The broadcast industry has been dominated by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai—
NHK) since its founding in 1925.
In the postwar period, NHK's budget and operations were under the purview of the
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the
Broadcasting Law
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
of 1950 provides for independent management and programming by NHK. Television broadcasting began in 1953, and
color television
Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
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.
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.
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
() is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed on October 1, 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp. (Daini-Denden Inc.), KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa) Corp. (itself a former listed state-owned enterprise privatized in 1998), and IDO Corp. It h ...
Inc.) lost its monopoly hold on international communications activities in 1989, when
Nihon Kokusai Tsushin and other private overseas communications firms began operations.
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.
Japan has been the world leader in telecommunications in the 1980s, but this position that has been challenged by the United States'
dot-com industry in the 1990s and the emerging
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.
Japan went into the 21st century after achieving widespread saturation with telecommunication devices. For instance, by 2008 the government's
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.
See also
*
Economy of Japan
**
Economic history of Japan
* Telecommunications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Communications In Japan