July 31, 2023 Results of Solicitation for Opinions on Draft Ministerial Ordinance and Relevant Regulations to Partially Amend Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Act and Regulations for Operating Radio Stations, and Report from Radio Regulatory Council―Institutional development for more flexible operation of local 5G

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) solicited opinions from Tuesday, June 13 through Wednesday, July 12, 2023, regarding a draft ministerial ordinance and relevant regulations to partially revise the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Act (Radio Regulatory Commission Rules No. 14 of 1950) and the Regulations for Operating Radio Stations (Radio Regulatory Commission Rules No. 17 of 1950) pertaining to local 5G.
As a result, 15 opinions were submitted, and MIC has decided to open the submitted opinions to the public, along with MIC’s views on the opinions.
In addition, based on the results of the solicitation for opinions, MIC sent an inquiry to the Radio Regulatory Council (chaired by SASASE Iwao, Professor Emeritus at Keio University) today on the consultation items stipulated in Article 99-11, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Radio Act (Act No. 131 of 1950) of the draft ministerial ordinance, and received a report that the draft is appropriate as it stands.
Based on the results of the solicitation for opinions and the report from the Radio Regulatory Council, MIC will promptly make relevant institutional developments.

1. Overview

Local 5G can be used flexibly by various entities, such as local companies and local governments, according to the individual needs of regions and industries. Therefore, it is expected to be a trump card for solving issues and revitalizing various regions nationwide.
In January of this year, MIC received a partial report from the Information and Communications Council (chaired by ENDO Nobuhiro, Executive Advisor of NEC Corporation) on the more flexible operation of local 5G. Based on the results of the report, MIC prepared a draft ministerial ordinance and relevant regulations to partially revise the Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Act and Regulations for Operating Radio Stations and solicited opinions on these drafts.

2. Report from Radio Regulatory Council

Based on the results of the solicitation for opinions, MIC sent the inquiry to the Radio Regulatory Council today on the inquiry items stipulated in Article 99-11, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Radio Act as a part of the draft ministerial ordinance to partially revise Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Act and Regulations for Operating Radio Stations, and received a report stating that the drafted amendments are appropriate.

3. Future plans

Based on the results of the solicitation for opinions and the report from the Radio Regulatory Council, MIC will promptly make relevant institutional developments.

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