Summary of Meeting of the Radio Regulatory Council (No. 903)



1. Date and Time
  January 11, 2006 (Wednesday)
15:10 to 16:47
2. Location
  Meeting Room of MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
(Meeting Room No. 1002 on the 10th floor)
3. Attendees (Honorifics omitted)
(1) Members of the Radio Regulatory Council
  Mitsutoshi Hatori (Chairperson), Kashiko Kodate, Hatsuko Ukigawa
(2) Hearing Examiner of the Radio Regulatory Council
  Shuichi Tanaka
(3) Secretary
  Ikko Mitsui (Deputy Director of the General Affairs Division, Telecommunications Bureau)
(4) MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
  Suda (Director-General of the Telecommunications Bureau), Sakurai (Director-General of the Radio Department), Shimizu (Director-General for Policy Planning), Kouno (Deputy Director-General of the Minister’s Secretariat), and others

4. Minutes of the Meeting
(1) About the draft ministerial ordinance that partially amends the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law and the Rules for Radio Equipment, as well as the proposed change to a part of the Frequency Assignment Plan
(Consultation No. 37 and No. 38 of November 9th, 2005)
     Having deliberated the draft ministerial ordinance in the title concerning the sophistication of high-power 950 MHz band passive tag systems and the deployment of low-power 950 MHz band passive tag systems, as well as the proposed changes to a part of the Frequency Assignment Plan based on the written opinion and protocol submitted by the examiner who presided over procedures for inviting public comments (refer to the post-hearing opinion from 409th Radio Regulatory Council’s written opinions), the Council concluded that the draft and the proposed change were acceptable and returned an affirmative reply.

(2) Concerning the draft ministerial ordinance that partially amends the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law
(Consultation No.1)
  The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (hereinafter, “MIC”) explained the draft ministerial ordinance that would partially amend the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law as to rendering radio station licenses unnecessary for small-scale radio stations in radio frequency anechoic chambers, etc. and within living bodies and provided a questions-and-answers session as follows.
Note that as Article 99-12 (1) of the Radio Law required that MIC hear public comments on this matter, MIC appointed Shuichi Tanaka as the hearing
examiner who would preside over procedures for inviting public comments.

a. Explanation by MIC
  This is concerned with rendering a radio station license unnecessary for a small-scale radio station in a radio anechoic chamber and the like and within a living body.
The usage of radio waves is becoming increasingly important in the lives and social and economic activities of Japanese citizens and it is necessary that new radio application systems offering enhanced convenience be promptly deployed. When conducting R & D activities for new radio application systems, radio equipment often undergoes procedures such as tests within shielded test facilities, such as radio frequency anechoic chambers.
In these tests, radio equipment in a shielded test room, such as a radio frequency anechoic chamber, generate a very high power output, but the radio waves become very weak outside the test facility due to the attenuation effect of the shielded room on the field intensity and the field intensities of the radio equipment may fall below the allowable value for low power radio stations. In these cases, radio station licenses shall be rendered unnecessary for such radio equipment. Note that MIC plans to make a separate announcement that such shielded chambers should meet the requirements specified in a notice by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Recently, medical radio equipment that only radiates emissions within a living body has been developed thanks to advances in radio communication technology and medical technology. Similarly, radio licenses shall be rendered unnecessary for radio equipment if their field intensities exceed the allowable value for the low power radio stations when they are used in their own right but fall below the value when the field intensities are measured from outside while in use in a living body. Note that as it has been decided that the method for measuring the values of field intensity shall be announced based on the current provisions in Article 6, Paragraph 2, of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law, MIC also plans to categorize medical radio equipment through a specific announcement. MIC intends to make these official announcements and put them into effect upon the receipt of a reply concerning this matter from the Council.

b. Major questions and answers
- The following question was asked:
  How many items of radio equipment to which this matter is applicable are there?
MIC answered as follows:
It is difficult to keep track of the exact number of items of such radio equipment in Japan. As one example of which MIC is aware, there is a company that has a share of about 10% of the market in radio frequency anechoic chambers. The company is said to be now constructing more than 100 anechoic rooms. Consequently, MIC assumes that a substantial number of items of radio equipment are being used.
- The following question was asked:
  How much technological development and proliferation effect can we expect from rendering licenses unnecessary for the radio equipment in question?
MIC answered as follows:
Radio equipment that will be used in test facilities will not need licenses. This means that such radio equipment will not have to follow licensing procedures at all when used for performing simplified tests. This will bring forth the advantage of the promotion of research and development. In the case of radio equipment only for use in a living body, such equipment is currently being developed under the assumption that they will require licensing. As long as they are small, they will not have to obtain licenses in future. Consequently, we can expect that new medical devices for use in living bodies will be created through research and development activities by making full use of the advantage.
- The following question was asked:
  What equipment is actually used as radio devices to be tested in a radio frequency anechoic chamber and the like?
MIC answered as follows:
Specifically speaking, we can list a few examples. For example, some devices whose field intensity is a little over the level of low power radio stations, such as radio devices for remote control in the home, and communication devices used for leisure, or specified low power radio equipment that need to be certified as radio stations requiring no license and whose output power is rather weak. Such devices would be candidates.
(The Radio Regulatory Council Secretariat is responsible for the wording of this document.)