Suga Calls for Cutting Mobile Phone Rates by 40 Pct

August 22, 2018

Sapporo- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday that mobile phone rates should be cut by some 40 pct, warning major carriers not to make "excessive" profits.

Suga claimed that profit margins are wide at the country's three major carriers--NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Softbank Group Corp.

"They should not gain excessive profits since they do business using radio waves, a national asset," Suga said in a lecture speech in Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

The industry is reviewing long-term installment payment contracts for smartphones after the Fair Trade Commission requested such a review, saying that the schemes are likely to be problematic in light of the antimonopoly law.

"In collaboration with the FTC, we want to tackle the issue to realize services and phone rates that will satisfy users more," Suga said.

Later in the day, Suga mentioned tasks such as promoting the distribution of used handsets and the removal of subscriber identity module, or SIM, locks intended to prevent smartphones bought from one carrier from being used in the network of another.

Speaking to reporters at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Suga also said a panel of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will start discussions on the issues Thursday.

Regarding a proposed new resident status for foreign workers, Suga said in the lecture speech that the government will make it easier for foreign students to find jobs after graduating from Japanese universities.

"We'll create a status covering a wider range of industries so that most of the foreign graduates hoping to work in Japan will be able to do so," he said, adding that he will have related government agencies discuss details. Jiji Press