June 30, 2021 Result of Appeal for Opinions on Drafted Partial Revision to Notice on Measurement and Calculation Methods for Intensity of Radio Waves Emitted from Base Stations

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) made an appeal for opinions from Saturday, April 17 through Friday, May 21, 2021, on a drafted partial revision to the Notice on Measurement and Calculation Methods for Intensity of Radio Waves Emitted from Base Stations for institutional development toward the introduction of underground base stations. As a result, six opinions were submitted. Accordingly, MIC has decided to open the submitted opinions and MIC’s views on the opinions to the public.

1. Overview

Many mobile phone base stations have been installed for mobile communications systems used in Japan to achieve high-speed and reliable connections in a wider area. On the other hand, in scenic spots, the installation of base stations was sometimes restricted considering the scenery.
Therefore, mobile phone carriers consider introducing underground base stations to cover an area above the ground. In that case, there is a need to evaluate the conformity of antennas installed at lower positions with Japan’s radio wave protection guidelines.
Considering the above situation, the Subcommittee on Electromagnetic Environment for Radio-wave Utilization (Chief investigator: TAKI Masao, special leading professor at the Faculty of Systems Design and professor emeritus, Tokyo Metropolitan University) of the Department on Information and Communications Technology under the Information and Communications Council studied technical requirements for measuring and calculating the intensity of radio waves emitted from underground base stations. In this connection, MIC received a partial report on March 30, 2021, from the Information and Communications Council (chaired by UCHIYAMADA Takeshi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Toyota Motor Corporation).
Based on the contents of this report, MIC drafted an amendment to the Notice on Measurement and Calculation Methods for Intensity of Radio Waves Emitted from Base Stations and has made the appeal for opinions on the draft.

2. Result of appeal for opinions

The published material is in Japanese only.

3. Promulgation and enforcement of notice

This notice has been promulgated on June 30, 2021, and will come into force on July 1, 2021.