Short description:

Bringing together unique analysis by renowned experts in the field, Ruth Taplin and Masako Wakui present a comprehensive survey of the telecommunications industry in Japan, covering the different sectors of the industry including mobile, broadband and satellite.

Long description:

Presenting a comprehensive survey of the telecommunications industry in Japan, Taplin and Wakui cover the different sectors of the industry ? including mobile, broadband and satellite, whilst considering key questions such as the structure and economics of the industry, government policy, and international relations issues connected to the industry.

The volume brings together unique analysis by renowned experts in the telecommunications field. One major overall problem is that, unlike many other industries, Japan has lagged behind other countries in telecommunications. Japanese Telecommunications considers why this should be so, showing how far this is attributable to an unmodernized industry structure, and assessing the measures being taken to address the problem.

After over a decade of struggle, Japan has recorded rapid uptake of broadband, and Japanese advanced mobile services have become increasingly successful on a global scale. Japan has also undergone regulatory reform, and competition policy is now given top priority by government. Taplin and Wakui examine the most recent developments and provide signposts for the future.

'Business, economics, communications, and politics are among the disciplines represented by scholars from Japan and Europe who analyze the current Japanese telecommunications market and regulations within an internationally grounded framework and conceptual structures. Among their topics are the broadband market, changing satellite systems, spectrum policy, policy network for network policy, and the difficult role of the Japanese negotiator in the access charge negotiations with the US.'  - Reference & Research Book News

'Ruth Taplin and Masako Wakui have produced a comprehensive and much-needed book spotlighting the Japanese telecommunications industry...[It] is certainly worth reading.' - japansociety

'While some chapters are fairly specialized, taken as a whole this book is an extremely useful reference work which illuminates an increasingly important part of the Japanese economy and its impact on the global market. It is not only comprehensive, but its Japanese and European contributors cover the topic from a broad spectrum of perspectives, conceptual frameworks and viewpoints.'

- japansociety

'Overall this work makes a major contribution to our understanding of the emerging Japanese telecommunications industry and is certainly worth reading.'

- japansociety

Table of Contents:

Introduction  1. Changes in the Interface and Industry Structure  2. The Broadband Market in Japan  3. Mobile Phone Industry: A Microcosm of Deregulation, Globalization, and Technological Change in the Japanese Economy  4. Changing Satellite Systems in Japan within a Global Context  5. Spectrum Policy  6. R and D and Intellectual Property in a Changing Telecommunication Market  7. Policy Network for Network Policy in Japan  8. Ill-Defined National Interest: The Difficult Role of the Japanese Negotiator in the Access Charge Negotiations with the United States