総務省 - chapter 1...two satellite carriers―japan communications satellite co., inc. and the...

In this section, we provide a general chronological overview of the growth of the ICT industry, from the telecommunications liberalization in 1985 to the present day, while touching on a few landmark events and turn-ing points. For our discussion, we divided the 30 years from 1985 to 2015 into three major periods: (1) the age

of the telephone (roughly 1985 to 1995), (2) the age of the Internet and the mobile phone (roughly 1995 to 2005), and (3) the age of broadband and the smartphone (roughly 2005 to present). Below, we sort through the distinctive transformations that occurred in systems, services, and market structures in each of these periods.

1. Period 1: The age of the telephone(1) Summary of the telecommunications liberalization

The Japanese government presented three bills on telecommunications reform to the National Diet, which were approved in 1984 and went into force in 1985. The reform bills’ aim was to affect far-reaching reformation of the telecommunications system, which had been predicated on a centralized system, and to proactively introduce private-sector dynamism, based on market competition principles, to the telecommunications sec-tor. With these steps, the government hoped to stimu-late the telecommunications business and boost its effi-ciency and to bring technological innovation to the telecommunications sector as well as engender social and economic development and progress in internation-alization.

The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Compa-ny, a government corporation, was reorganized into an incorporated public company, and the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) was established, based on the Act on the Nippon Telegraph and Tele-phone Corporation. Establishing a new corporation was an undertaking to further stimulate and improve the ef-ficiency of the company’s management.

(2) Transformations resulting from telecommunications liberalization

a. Succession of new entrantsA succession of new companies entered the liberal-

ized telecommunications market. In June 1985, three long-distance carriers―the DDI Corporation, Japan Telecom Co., Ltd., and the Teleway Corporation―and two satellite carriers―Japan Communications Satellite Co., Inc. and the Space Communications Corporation―were the first to be licensed as Type 1 telecommunica-tions businesses after the business act was enacted. These were followed by two international carriers and nine regional (electric power) carriers.

b. Dramatically lower pricesTelecommunications prices fell dramatically due to

escalating competition among carriers. In the long-dis-tance communications market, for example, price-cut-ting competition broke out centering on the Tokyo, Na-goya, and Osaka markets and the routes joining these three largest domestic markets. Although the primary telecommunications services offered at the time were telephones and leased lines, competition focused on telephone services because of the market size.

The highest long-distance rate initially in 1985 had been 400 yen for three minutes, but this tumbled to 180 yen for three minutes 10 years later (Figure 1-1-1-1).

c. Emergence of new servicesAfter telecommunications liberalization, new servic-

es, such as computer communications and facsimile communications, emerged, and gradually their mem-bers and subscriptions grew in number. In 1991, there were 1.15 million computer communications users, which soon swelled to 3.69 million in 1995 and 5.73 mil-lion by 1996 (Figure 1-1-1-2). The number of facsimile service subscriptions also soared during this time frame (Figure 1-1-1-3). The main factors behind these increas-es were the rising value of using networks, fueled by a mounting need for recorded communications and ser-vice area expansions, and long-distance communica-tions prices that were inexpensive compared to using the telephone network.

(3) Recap of Period 1In the first 10 years after the introduction of competi-

tion with the telecommunications liberalization in 1985, many new carriers entered the telecommunications market and competition among carriers drove down prices and diversified services.

During this period computer communications, mobile phones, facsimiles, and other services started to expand as new businesses in the ICT field. This period also saw fiber optics and other technologies advance and, most importantly, the first signs of the Internet (broadband) and mobile communications, which would evolve into

Section 1　30 Years Since Telecommunications Liberalization: System, Service, and Market Transitions

2

Part 1

Chapter 1Telecommunications Liberalization and Growth of the ICT Industry

the core services of the next period and that we use to-day. It was also a time when the Ministry of Posts and

Telecommunications made policy adjustments to allow these technologies to flourish.

2. Period 2: The age of the Internet and the mobile phone(1) Meteoric proliferation of the Internet

The Internet was initially the sole domain of special-ized researchers and educational institutions, and Inter-net access services did not become commercially avail-able until the early 1990s. Once the Internet did become commercially available in Japan in 1993, Internet user numbers skyrocketed. By 1998, just a mere five years af-ter the first commercial services were launched, the In-ternet household penetration rate passed the 10 percent mark (Figure 1-1-2-1). This take-up speed was faster than any previous major ICT media. The first Internet connec-tions were mostly dial-up connections that used tele-phone or ISDN lines. But later cable TV Internet and digital subscriber line (DSL) connection methods ar-rived, whose exponentially faster transmission speeds further spurred the Internet’s popularity (Figure 1-1-2-2).

(2) Growth and advancement of mobile phonesThe number of mobile phone users increased at a

pace of 10 million subscriptions per year from 1996 to 2002. In 2000, the number of mobile phone and PHS handset subscriptions surpassed the number of sub-

scriptions to fixed-line telephone services (subscription telephones and ISDN), becoming the primary means of voice services (Figure 1-1-2-3). Rapid advances in net-work technology took place in tandem with the expan-sion in user numbers. Digital technologies advanced in the later 1990s, leading to the provision of mobile Inter-net starting in 1999. In 2001, Japan was the first country in the world to roll out full-scale third-generation mobile communication services (Figure 1-1-2-4).

(3) Recap of Period 2During the second period, rules were studied and put

into place to make competition among carriers more ef-fective, especially the detailed rules on interconnections between NTT and new common carriers (NCCs). Fur-thermore, compared to the first period, more diverse and effective rules were enacted to promote competition in areas beyond interconnections, such as asymmetric regulations on market dominant carriers, priority con-nections, and number portability for fixed-line tele-phones.

During this time mobile phones became a central

(Source) Prepared from Annual Reports of the Telecommunications Carriers Association

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450(yen)

Apr-8

5O

ct-8

5Ap

r-86

Oct

-86

Apr-8

7O

ct-8

7Ap

r-88

Oct

-88

Apr-8

9O

ct-8

9Ap

r-90

Oct

-90

Apr-9

1O

ct-9

1Ap

r-92

Oct

-92

Apr-9

3O

ct-9

3Ap

r-94

Oct

-94

Apr-9

5O

ct-9

5Ap

r-96

Oct

-96

Apr-9

7O

ct-9

7Ap

r-98

Oct

-98

Apr-9

9O

ct-9

9Ap

r-00

Oct

-00

Apr-0

1O

ct-0

1Ap

r-02

Oct

-02

NTT Long-distance NCCs

400360

330

280300280

240200

180

240

200180

170 140

130 110

1009090

8080

Figure 1-1-1-1 Dramatically lower prices (prices for a three-minute afternoon call between Tokyo and Osaka)

728 1,060 1,418 1,9582,997

4,668

372490

539639

692

1,064

1,1001,550

1,9572,597

3,689

5,732

0

2,000

4,000

6,000[in 1000s of members]

July1991

June1992

June1993

June1994

June1995

June1996

Total number of members of other computernetworks

Total number of members of computer networkswith 10,000 or more members

Figure 1-1-1-2 Transitions in the number of computer com-munications members

(Source) White Paper on Communications in Japan, 1997 edition

1.8 4.68.5

20.1

29.836.9

43.548.2

54.060.1

67.8

0

20

40

60

80

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

Subscriptions [in tens of thousands]

Figure 1-1-1-3 Transitions in the number of subscriptions to facsimile communications network services

(Source) White Paper on Communications in Japan, 1995 edition

3

Part 1

5 years

13 years

15 years

19 years

24 years

76 years

0 20 40 60 80

Internet

ComputersMobile /

car phonesFax machines

Pagers

Telephones

(Year)

"Prepared from “Communications Usage Trend Survey” and other MIC materials (Source) White Paper on Communications in Japan, 1999 edition"

Figure 1-1-2-1 Time required for major ICT media to reach a 10 percent household penetration rate in Japan

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000[in tens of thousands]

Mar 0

4

Dec 0

3

Sep

03

June

03

Mar 0

3

Dec 0

2

Sep

02

June

02

Mar 0

2

Dec 0

1

Sep

01

June

01

Mar 0

1

Dec 0

0

Sep

00

June

00

Mar 0

0

Dec 9

9

Sep

99

June

99

Mar 9

9

44%

Dial-up CATV DSL FTTH

(Source) MIC

Figure 1-1-2-2 Number of users of Internet connection services

(Source) Prepared from “Announcement of Quarterly Data on Telecommunications Service Contracts and Market Shares,” MIC and materials from the Telecommunications Carriers Association

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015

Subscriptions [in tens of thousands]

(Year)

15,514

2,773

Mobile phone contracts surpass fixed-line telephone contracts

3.9G (LTE)IP telephonyFixed-line broadbandMobile phonesFixed-line telephones

Figure 1-1-2-3 Transitions in communications service subscribers

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000[in tens of thousands]

05.9

05.6

05.3

04.1204

.904

.604

.303

.1203.9

03.6

03.3

02.1202

.902

.602

.301

.1201.9

01.6

01.3

00.1200

.900

.600

.3

42.7%3G

2G

Figure 1-1-2-4 Transitions in subscribers by mobile phone system

(Source) Telecommunications Carriers Association

4

Part 1

presence in not just voice but also Internet connections. Communications services and communications infra-structure also underwent massive changes over these 10 years. The proliferation of the Internet and mobile

phones triggered desultory reforms to the ICT field. This was undoubtedly a huge turning point when con-sidering the transformations this proliferation brought to our society.

3. Period 3: The age of broadband and the smartphone(1) Further advances in network infrastructure and service

diversificationAt the beginning of the 2000s, the industry rapidly

shifted from long-used metal lines to fiber optics as the primary technology for fixed-line communications net-works. This proactive conversion to fiber optics for the last-mile access networks was unprecedented, even in-ternationally. Fixed-line broadband migrated en masse to FTTH, with total FTTH subscriptions outstripping DSL subscriptions in FY 2008 and exceeding 25 million lines by FY 2013.

The broadband wave was not limited to fixed-line communications networks. After mobile phone net-works completely went digital, efforts were made to in-crease speeds and bandwidths. Through heavy invest-ment in 3G and 3.9G infrastructure, carriers achieved faster network speeds and, after the smooth migration from 2G systems to 3G and 3.9G, 3.9G subscriptions, in FY 2013, now account for the largest share of broadband subscriptions.

(2) Established the world’s most advanced broadband environ-mentThis period witnessed a major effort to build out the

areas where broadband is available. In 2007, the percent-age of Japanese households where broadband was avail-able (i.e., the household coverage rate of all service ar-eas) stood at 95.2 percent, while the household coverage rate for FTTH and other ultra-high-speed broadband con-nections was 83.5 percent. By 2014, the household cover-age rate was 99.9 percent for ultra-high-speed broadband and 100 percent for broadband (Figure 1-1-3-1).

But what is the position of our broadband environ-ment described above in comparison to other countries? A comparison of broadband prices per megabit per sec-ond among OECD member states as of September 2014 shows that Japan had the lowest broadband prices per megabit per second among OECD member states (Fig-ure 1-1-3-2). When viewed by speed and price together, Japan can be said to have the world’s highest standard broadband environment.

83.5

99.9

95.2

100

80

85

90

95

100

2007 2014

(%)

Increased to almost

100 percent

Ultra-high-speedbroadband

Broadband(excluding 3.5G)

Figure 1-1-3-1 Transitions in the percentage of households with broadband availability

(Source) “State of Broadband Infrastructure Establishment,” MIC

Figure 1-1-3-2 Broadband prices per megabit per second

(Source) 2015 OECD Digital Economy Outlook

5

Part 1

(3) Arrival and growth of smartphonesThe arrival of the smartphone, typified by Apple’s

iPhone in 2007, further advanced the convergence of communications and computers that had been ongoing since 1995. Smartphone-related fields have been ex-panding day by day, such that businesses on the Internet started developing around the smartphone.

Results from the 2014 Communications Usage Trend Survey show that smartphones are owned in more than 64 percent of all households. Checking smartphone ownership by the age of the head of the household finds that the younger the head of the household, the higher the ownership rate: 94.5 percent among heads of house-holds in their 20s, 92.4 percent among those in their 30s, and over 70 percent among those in their 40s and 50s. Even the smartphone ownership among seniors 60 and older approaches 40 percent. From this, we can surmise that citizens of all ages have embraced smartphones and that smartphones have largely proliferated society (Fig-ure 1-1-3-3).

(4) Recap and future issuesThanks to aggressive network investments, primarily

by private carriers, over the last 30 years from the tele-communications liberalization in 1985 to today in 2015, broadband is available not only in the major urban areas but also in virtually all areas of Japan. Through these advances in infrastructure, the role of Japan’s ICT has

also transformed from a conventional communication tool to a new management resource that generates, ac-cumulates, and processes information to create added value.

On the other hand, with the reorganization of the tele-communication industry starting in the second period, telecommunications carriers have today consolidated, for all practical intent, into a three-group system consist-ing of the NTT Group, the KDDI Group, and the Soft-bank Group. Therefore, it is more important than ever to sustain fair market conditions so that users are free to choose the devices, services, and price plans that suit their needs and so that new services are created while keeping watch over the formation of groups and oligopo-lies among carriers. Furthermore, we anticipate that maintaining safe and secure usage environments as ICT advances will also increase in importance.

And whereas previous policies have been oriented to-ward ubiquitous ICT, with continued progress in the ICT field, future policies will start venturing into the IoT world. Looking toward the future in 2030 and beyond, as described later, putting into practice what has been stud-ied in the application area will be increasingly important. And a key question for ICT will be how to implement in networks devices that embody the added value created through the processing and analysis of information that has been stored or distributed on the Internet.

In this section, we provide a general overview, from a quantitative data perspective, of the entire ICT indus-try’s growth from 1985’s the telecommunications liberal-

ization to the present time and verify where we have ar-rived after these 30 years.

1. Expansion of the ICT market and its contribution to economic growth(1) Sales by telecommunications carriers

At the time of the telecommunications liberalization in 1985, Japan had only two telecommunications carriers, NTT and KDD, which had combined sales of 5.3570 tril-lion yen. In comparison, the combined sales of the lead-ing domestic telecommunication carriers in 2013 were

22.4870 trillion yen, a jump of over 400 percent. These figures demonstrate that the overall market for telecom-munications services has expanded greatly due to vigor-ous competition among carriers (Figure 1-2-1-1).

Section 2　30 Years Since Telecommunications Liberalization: Overview from a Data Perspective

64.7

94.5

92.4

83.9

75.1

36.7

0 20 40 60 80 100(%)

20 to 29

30 to 39

40 to 49

50 to 59

60 and older

All

Figure 1-1-3-3 Smartphone ownership

(Source) “2014 Communications Usage Trend Survey,” (Household Edition) MIC

6

Part 1

(2) Size of the ICT industry’s marketWe looked at how much the entire ICT industry has

grown, including telecommunications services. The ICT industry’s real domestic production value, which was ap-proximately 40 trillion yen in 1985, expanded by about 2.4 times to approximately 98 trillion yen in 2013. These figures highlight that the entire ICT industry, and not just telecommunications services, has seen massive growth, driven by ICT infrastructure build-out and prog-ress in ICT applications since the telecommunications liberalization (Figure 1-2-1-2).

(3) ICT industry’s contribution to economic growthWe next examined how much of a contribution the de-

velopment of the ICT industry has made to our coun-try’s overall economic growth. To do this, we measured the ICT industry’s contribution to the real GDP growth rate from 1985 to 2013. The results show that the ICT industry’s contribution to economic growth has been consistently positive. Even during the 2007 to 2010 peri-od when the real GDP plunged, the ICT industry contin-ued to be a positive contributor (Figure 1-2-1-3). These figures substantiate the large contribution the ICT in-dustry has made our country’s overall economic growth.

2. Changes in communications chargesFinally, we looked at how the charges users pay to use

communications services have changed over the 30 years since telecommunications liberalization. We graphed the transitions in primary communications charges from 1985 to 2014 with 1985 charges set as a baseline of 100, based on the Bank of Japan’s corporate service price index (in constant 2005 values). These re-sults show a tremendous decline in prices for mobile communications services (mobile phones and PHS handsets) in particular. Although the price decreases have started to level off in recent years, over the entire period, it is clear that competition among carriers has driven down communications charges (Figure 1-2-2-1).

We end with an international comparison of transi-tions in user fees, taking mobile phone charges as an example. We estimated the mobile phone charges in To-kyo, New York, Paris, and Dusseldorf in 2003 and in 2013 using the call model (with an average of 82 minutes in calls per month (the actual average number of calling minutes in 2012)) from MIC’s “Survey on Domestic and Overseas Price Variances for Telecommunications Ser-vices” (2013). Figure 1-2-2-2 below illustrates the transi-tions in the four cities, where it is evident that the drop in mobile phone charges in Japan (Tokyo) is striking, even when compared to other countries (Figure 1-2-2-2).

［100s of millions of yen］

0

5

10

15

20

［trillions of yen］

Brea

kdow

nBr

eakd

own

Brea

kdow

n

Domestic market Internationalmarket

Mob

ileM

obile

Fixe

dO

ther

31,42726,007

Fixe

dan

dot

her

Mob

ile /

fixed

and

othe

r

9,232

42,020 2,290

44,226

48,428

27,762

5.357 trillion yen

Expand

ed by a

bout 4 tim

es

22.487 trillion yenOther464.3 billion yen

Softbank Group6.6666 trillion yen

KDDI Group4.431 trillion yen

NTT Group10.9252 trillion yen

1985Privatization of

NTT

201328 years

Of the leftfigures11,960

About 18% oftotal sales

KDD: 223 billion yen

NTT: 5.134 trillion yen

●Sales by telecommunications carriers have expanded by about 4 times in 28 years.

Figure 1-2-1-1 Sales by telecommunications carriers (total sales in the domestic market and international market)

(Source) “Study Report on Structural Changes and Future Prospects for the Global ICT Industry,” MIC (2015)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120［trillions of yen in 2005 prices］

1985 2013 [Year]

Expanded by about 2.4 times

●The ICT industry’s market grew by about 24 times in 28 years.

Research Construction industries related to ICTService industries related to ICT Manufacturing industries related to ICTVideo, audio, text information creation industries Internet auxiliary service industryInformation service industry Broadcasting industryCommunication industry

Figure 1-2-1-2 ICT industry’s real domestic production value

(Source) “Study on Economic Analysis of ICT,” MIC (2015)

ICT industry 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.1Other industries 4.1 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.8 -1.5 0.2All industries 4.5 1.4 0.6 0.5 0.5 1.3 -1.4 0.3

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0(%) Real GDP is based on 2005 price evaluations

85 ～ 90(yearly average)








Figure 1-2-1-3 ICT industry’s contribution to the real GDP growth rate

(Source) “Study on Economic Analysis of ICT,” MIC (2015)

7

Part 1

1. Structural changes in the ICT industryThe structure of the ICT industry has changed, given

various technological innovations and paradigm shifts. The transitions in the ICT industry since the telecom-munications liberalization, looking at technological inno-vation, can be characterized into two roughly decade-

long periods: the decade after 1995 when the Internet took off and the decade after 2005 when mobile went mainstream and cloud computing emerged (Figure 1-3-1-1).

2. Responses by Japanese enterprises to structural changes in the ICT industry(1) Adaptive strategies by Japanese enterprises to handle

structural changesAs the structure of the ICT industry moved away from

vertical integration and toward horizontal integration, Japan’s communications companies embarked on diver-sification strategies that include not only communica-tions equipment but also semiconductor and consumer device businesses. Below, we focus on some leading communication equipment corporations and provide a general overview of the history of how their business portfolios and organizations developed.

a. NECNEC, Japan’s first joint venture, was established in

1899 by Kunihiko Iwadare with a 54 percent capital in-vestment by Western Electric Company, a U.S. firm. The company laid the foundation to transfigure itself into a diversified information and communications electronics manufacturer when it adopted the slogan “C&C”―which stood for Computer & Communication―and ad-vocated for the convergence of computer and communi-cation technologies as its new corporate philosophy in 1977. Making use of its strengths in both fields, NEC held a global competitive advantage from the late 1980s

Section 3　Structural Changes in the ICT Industry

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14[Year]

1985 = 100(Except for Internet access services, where 1995 = 100)

Average price index Fixed-line telephones Internet access servicesMobile phones / PHS handsets

●Charges for mobile communications services have fallen to less than 20 percent.●Charges for fixed-line telephones and Internet

access have also fell significantly since 2005.

Figure 1-2-2-1 Transitions in communications charges

(Source) Prepared by MIC based on “Corporate Service Price Index (constant 2005 values),” Bank of Japan

5,570

2,599

4,307 4,6195,379

1,807

5,959

3,503

5,847

4,112

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,000

2003 2013

Monthly charges [yen]

Tokyo New York LondonParis Dusseldorf

Figure 1-2-2-2 International comparison of mobile phone charges

(Source) Materials prepared by MIC

ServicesDevices Devices

Communications(networks)

Communicationsequipment

Infrastructure

ICT services

Platforms

Content andapplications

Telecommunications carriers andlarge vendors dominate

Emergence of IT vendors and Internet andother xx carriers

Progress of expansion and collaborations across higher andlower layers through horizontal integration/vertical separation

Prior to 1995: Vertical integrationcentering on fixed-line telephones

1995-2005: Internet-driven convergence ofcommunications and information

2005-present: Collaborations and competitionthrough mobile and cloud

Communicationsequipment businesses

Device businessesParts and materials businesses

Dive

rsified

vend

ors

Telecommunicationscarriers



Diversifiedvendors

NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi NEC, Fujitsu Hitachi

NTT,AT&T

NTT docomo (i-Mode)

Alcatel,Ericsson

IBM,Compaq

Intel

NTT,AT&T

Cisco,Alcatel,Ericsson

Apple,Xiaomi,SONY

LINE

Netflix

Nokia,MotorolaIntel, Qualcomm

UpwardexpansionDownwardexpansion

Cisco,NEC, Fujitsu,

Nokia Networks

Samsung, LenovoIntel, Qualcomm



Content andapp businesses

Telecommunicationscarriers

Cloud businessesDC businesses

Platform and net businesses

Content and appbusinesses

Platform andnet businesses

IBM, Microsoft,

SAP, Fujitsu,Hitachi,

NTT Data

Telecommunications carriers

Software andsystem vendors

SIer

Software andsystem vendors

SIer

B2C B2B B2C B2B B2C B2B

ModularizationMove to mobile

Move to cloud

Move to broadband

Commoditization

Move to IPand

growth of theInternet

Google, Amazon Google, Amazon IBM

Equinix

Ericsson

HuaweiHP, Dell

Gree, DeNA, Facebook, Rakuten

IBM, Microsoft,

SAP, Fujitsu,Hitachi,

NTT Data

NTT,AT&T

Figure 1-3-1-1 Structural changes in the ICT industry (layers and players)

(Source) “Study Report on Structural Changes and Future Prospects for the Global ICT Industry,” MIC (2015)

8

Part 1

through to the middle 1990s. In the latter half of the 1990s, however, the company’s business performance stagnated due to a worldwide slump in the computer business and due to increasing competition with power-houses in the United States and South Korea in the semi-conductor market.

Noting the rapid popularization of the Internet, NEC made “Internet focus” its core policy from 2000 on and began concentrating its management resources on its IT solutions business and network solutions business even as it spun off business units that previously were its strengths, such as the DRAM, semiconductor, comput-er, and mobile phone handset businesses. In 2013, NEC recognized ICT’s place in advancing public infrastruc-ture and resolving social issues as a growth opportunity and reorganized itself into five business segments: a so-cial solutions business, which aims to establish new business models; a public business to serve domestic and foreign governments, public agencies, public insti-tutions, and financial institutions; an enterprise business to address private-sector demand particularly from the manufacturing industry and the logistic and service in-dustry; a telecom carrier business for telecommunica-tions carriers; and a system platform business that pro-vides solutions and services using various products. In this way, NEC has pivoted toward a solutions and infra-structure business while moving ahead with manage-ment diversification centered on networks and IT.

b. FujitsuFurukawa Electric and Siemens of Germany created

Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. as a joint venture to produce gen-erators and electric motors in Japan. Fujitsu (Fuji Tsush-inki Manufacturing Corporation at the time) was estab-lished in 1935 when Fuji Electric spun off its Communications Division.

Fujitsu enjoyed success with its FACOM M series of IBM-compatible general-purpose computers from the late 1970s through to 1990, and the company expanded into the personal computer business, developed super-computers and high-performance servers, and endeav-ored to grow while working to commercialize products.

Eyeing the full-blown expansion of the Internet, the company announced a new business strategy “Every-thing on the Internet,” which was centered on broad-band Internet, in 1999. Under this business strategy, Fujitsu concentrated its management resources on three business segments―services: providing solutions in the form of consulting, system integration, outsourc-ing services, and network services; platforms: providing mobile communications networks, optical networks, and server/client and other Internet-enabled products; and technology: adding higher value through state-of-the-art technology resting on system LSI, memory, and other electronic components―and directed its energy toward providing comprehensive solutions.

The company again revised its product categories in 2005 to accommodate its customers and reorganized into technology solutions―providing total solutions with high-performance, high-quality products and soft-

ware services, ubiquitous product solutions to serve in-dividual needs, and device solutions centered on the LSI business. More recently, Fujitsu has been developing businesses that deploy advanced technologies, such as big data technology and cloud computing technology, as platforms as part of its mid-term vision to construct an intelligent and abundant society through the application of ICT that the company calls a “human-centric intelli-gent society.”

c. HitachiHitachi, established in 1910, is a diversified electron-

ics manufacturer that has expanded into many fields, ranging from industry and public infrastructure to con-sumer products and electronic components.

Hitachi had continually invested heavily in semicon-ductors, computers, and other aspects of the electronic field since the 1980s and revamped its business make-up by expanding the application scope of its electronics field, which had supported Hitachi’s platforms since its establishment, into heavy electrical machinery and in-dustrial machinery. Unfortunately, Hitachi, like other Japanese manufacturers, lost its global competitiveness and was forced to reorganize its business because of the commoditization of product prices, in addition to the breakneck pace of technological innovation in the semi-conductor and computer business, and because of its failure to pursue the rapidly progressing trend toward international specialization. Although ICT systems have become the company’s core business, since the mid-2000s electric power and industrial systems have been driving overall sales. To affect shifts in business fields, and to move ahead with overseas expansion, Hitachi has been promoting organization transformations without regard for business division or plant boundaries and cre-ating organizations that span multiple business fields. For example, Hitachi instituted a company system on October 1, 2009, and has been pursuing independent ac-counting systems for each business unit in order to ac-celerate structural reform and bolster the competitive-ness of each business unit.

In the midst of these developments, the company is positioning the social innovation business as its current and future mainstay business. In this segment, Hitachi will provide advanced public infrastructure powered by its control technologies and IT and other ICT system technologies, leveraging its strengths in materials and key device fields and other fields that combine the Hita-chi Group’s information and communications systems, industrial, transportation, and urban development sys-tems, and power systems.

9

Part 1

総務省 - chapter 1...two satellite carriers―japan communications satellite co., inc. and the...

Documents