Chapter II.

Procedures for Telecommunications Business

II-1. Registration of Telecommunications Business

1. Procedures for registration
Upon registration, the following documents submitted:
1) Application form (Form 1)
Matters to be described are as follows:

i) Name and address of the applicant and, in the cases where the applicant is a juridical person, name of the representative
ii) Service areas
iii) Outline of telecommunications facilities

2) Documents to be attached

i) A document indicating that the applicant does not fall under the reasons for disqualification of registration (Form 2)
ii) Network diagrams (Form 3)
iii) Documents concerning telecommunications services to be provided (Form 4)
iv) Outline of businesses conducted by the applicant other than the telecommunications business
v) Where the applicant is an existing juridical person:

• A certified copy of the articles of association or of the act of endowment and of the register
• A list of officers and their curricula vitae

vi) Where the applicant is a person who intends to establish a juridical person:

• A certified copy of the articles of association or of the act of endowment
• A list of promoters, partners or founders, and their curricula vitae, and documents certifying their names, addresses and dates of birth

vii) Where the applicant is an association other than juridical persons listed in vi):

• A certified copy of the association articles, rules, etc. describing the purpose, organization, operations, etc. of said association
• A list of officers and their curricula vitae, and documents certifying their names, addresses and dates of birth

viii) Where the applicant is an individual:

• A document certifying the person’s name, address and date of birth
• A curriculum vitae

2. Examination/Registration
The Minister shall, except cases where refusing a registration in accordance with each item of Article 12 of the Telecommunications Business Law toward an application for registration of telecommunications business, register the following matters on the telecommunications carriers registration book:

• Name and address of the applicant and, in the cases where the applicant is a juridical person, name of the representative
• Service areas
• Outline of telecommunications facilities
• Date and registration number

1) Reasons for disqualification
Where a person who falls under any of the following items, the Minister shall refuse the registration of said person:

i) Any person who has been sentenced to a fine or severer penalty in accordance with the provisions of the Telecommunications Business Law, the Wire Telecommunications Law or the Radio Law and a period of two years has not yet elapsed since the day on which the person's sentence or suspended sentence was served out
ii) Any person whose registration was revoked if a period of two years has not yet elapsed since the day of revocation
iii) Any juridical person or association which has as an officer anyone who falls under any of the preceding i) or ii)
iv) Any person where it is deemed that the launch of a telecommunications business of said person is inappropriate for the sound development of telecommunications

The Minister shall, where the registration has been refused in accordance with the provisions of the preceding items, notify the person concerned to that effect in writing with reasons attached thereto.

2) Standard processing period
The standard processing period is the standard length of time it takes for an application submitted to a government office to be processed. An application for registration for a telecommunications business will, in principle, take about 15 days.

II-2. Notification of telecommunications business

Upon submitting a notification intending to operate a telecommunications business to the Minister, the applicant shall submit the following documents (Regional Bureaus of Telecommunications, the Okinawa Office of Posts and Telecommunications (hereinafter referred to as "Regional Bureaus of Telecommunications, etc.") accepts such notifications):
1) Notification (Form 8)
Matters to be described are as follows:

i) Name and address of the applicant and, in the cases where the applicant is a juridical person, name of the representative
ii) Service areas
iii) Outline of telecommunications facilities (limited to the cases where the person installs telecommunications facilities for telecommunications business)

2) Documents to be attached

i) Network diagrams (Form 3)
ii) Documents concerning telecommunications services to be provided (Form 4)
iii) Where the applicant is an existing juridical person, a certified copy of the articles of association or of the act of endowment and of the register
iv) Where the applicant is a person who intends to establish a juridical person:

• A certified copy of the articles of association or of the act of endowment
• A list of promoters, partners or founders, and documents certifying their names, addresses and dates of birth
v) Where the applicant is an association other than juridical persons listed in iv):
• A certified copy of the association articles, rules, etc. describing the purpose, organization, operations, etc. of said association
• A list of officers and documents certifying their names, addresses and dates of birth
vi) Where the applicant is an individual, a document certifying the person’s name, address and date of birth

II-3. Approval of telecommunications business

(2) Any person who intends to obtain approval shall, as specified in the applicable MIC ordinance, submit an application describing the following matters to the Minister.

i) Name and address and, in the cases where the applicant is a juridical person, name of the representative
ii) Service areas of the telecommunications business pertaining to the application
iii) Outline of telecommunications facilities for the use of telecommunications business pertaining to the application

(3) Documents which include the business plan specified in the applicable MIC ordinance shall be attached to the application.
(Following Section: the Telecommunications Business Law Chapter III, Section 2; Articles 40-9 and 40-10 of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Law (MIC ordinance)

1. Procedures for approval

A telecommunications carrier shall, upon conducting a telecommunications business, when intending to obtain approval for all or part of the operations of telecommunications business from the Minister, file the following documents:
1) Application form (when an existing telecommunications carrier submits a registration of changes or notification of changes, and at the same time, submits an application for approval for all or part of the operations of telecommunications business to the Minister, the telecommunications carrier shall use Form 38-5 or 38-9; in other cases, use Form 38-4 or 38-8.)
Matters to be described are as follows:

i) Name and address and, in the cases where the applicant is a juridical person, name of the representative
ii) Service areas of the telecommunications business pertaining to the application
iii) Outline of telecommunications facilities for the use of telecommunications business pertaining to the application

2) Documents to be attached

i) Business plan (Form 38-6 or 38-10)
ii) Revenue and expenditure account estimates for five business years covering a business year including a day within five years calculating from the day of the launch of the business (Form 38-7 or 38-11)
iii) Documents indicating the ground of the planned day of the launch of the business
iv) Documents concerning main engineers (in cases where main engineers are chief telecommunications engineers, those describing names, and types and numbers of chief telecommunications engineer's licenses. In other cases, curricula vitae)
v) Where the applicant is an existing juridical person:

• A list of officers and their curricula vitae
• A balance sheet and a profit and loss settlement of the last business year

vi) Where the applicant is a person who intends to establish a juridical person:

• A list of promoters, partners or founders, and their curricula vitae
• Documents describing the stock subscriptions or the status of and prospects for investment

vii) Where the applicant is an association other than juridical persons listed in vi):

• Curricula vitae of officers (except cases where the association has already been registered or submitted an application for registration)
• Documents describing the status of assets of the association

viii) Where the applicant is an individual:

• A curriculum vitae (except cases where the association has already been registered or submitted an application for registration)
• A statement of assets

ix) Where the applicant is a local public entity, a copy of the assembly proceedings pertaining to engagement in a telecommunications business
x) A document indicating that the applicant does not fall under the reasons for disqualification of approval (Form 2; however, except cases where the applicant has already been registered or submitted an application for registration)
xi) When permission or other disposition of the competent government authority is required concerning the installation of telecommunications facilities, a copy of said permit, etc. (a copy of the application in cases where the application has been made for permission, etc.) or a document describing the status of said procedures.
xii) Documents, including figures illustrating the configuration of telecommunications facilities and interconnection with telecommunications facilities of other telecommunications carriers and users, which confirm that there are no communications between telecommunications facilities for the use of telecommunications business pertaining to the application for approval and telecommunications facilities for the use of telecommunications business not pertaining to the application for approval, when directly interconnecting those telecommunications facilities or interconnecting those telecommunications facilities via telecommunications facilities of other telecommunications carriers (limited to cases of an application for partial approval of telecommunications business)

2. Examination

The Minister shall, by examining an application for approval of all or part of telecommunications business in accordance with each item of Article 119 of the Telecommunications Business Law, when it is deemed that the application for approval is met, grant approval of all or part of telecommunications business. Examination standards of each item are as follows:

1) Examination standards

i) The applicant shall have an adequate financial basis and a technical capability to properly perform a telecommunications business pertaining to its application.
ii) The plan of the telecommunications business pertaining to its application shall be reliable and rational.
iii) The applicant shall have a registration necessary for operating a telecommunications business pertaining to its application or a registration of changes, or said applicant has submitted a notification.

2) Standard processing period
The standard processing period is the standard length of time it takes for an application submitted to a government office to be processed. An application for approval for a telecommunications business will take about one month.

3) Reasons for disqualification
Where a person who falls under any of the following items, the Minister shall not grant approval for said person:

i) Any person who has been sentenced to a fine or severer penalty in accordance with the provisions of the Telecommunications Business Law, the Wire Telecommunications Law or the Radio Law and a period of two years has not yet elapsed since the day on which the person's sentence or suspended sentence was served out
ii) Any person whose approval was revoked if a period of two years has not yet elapsed since the day of revocation
iii) Any juridical person or association which has as an officer anyone who falls under any of the preceding i) or ii)

3. Obligation to commence business

Any person who has obtained an approval for a telecommunications business in accordance with 2. shall commence the telecommunications business within the designated period. If, however, it is determined that there is due reason to do so, in accordance with Form 38-12, this period may be extended.
When the person has commenced its business, it shall submit without delay a notification to that effect to the Minister. (Form 38-13)

II-4. Relations between Registration/Notification and Approval

Under the Telecommunications Business Law before the amendment, a telecommunications carrier being granted permission of Type I telecommunications business was automatically recognized as having rights-of-way, so-called public utility privileges, to use land, etc. for laying line facilities. However, along with abolition of the permission system for entry, a telecommunications business may be commenced through simplified procedures. Thus, an approval system was introduced anew so that a telecommunications carrier can, when intending to exercise a public utility privilege, separately from the procedures for entering a telecommunications business (registration or notification), obtain an approval for all or part of a telecommunications business from the Minister.
Upon application for registration or submission of notification, an application for approval may, at the same time, be filed (refer to Fig. 2.). With respect to a telecommunications business already registered or notified, an application for ex-post facto approval may be submitted for the telecommunications business.

Fig. 2. Procedures for registration/notification and approval (in cases of simultaneous application)

Back