[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 275 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 275

 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding fair access to Japanese 
              telecommunications facilities and services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 2000

   Mr. Baucus (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following 
       resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding fair access to Japanese 
              telecommunications facilities and services.

Whereas the United States has a deep and sustained interest in the promotion of 
        deregulation, competition, and regulatory reform in Japan;
Whereas new and bold measures by the Government of Japan regarding regulatory 
        reform will help remove the regulatory and structural impediments to the 
        effective functioning of market forces in the Japanese economy;
Whereas regulatory reform will increase the efficient allocation of resources in 
        Japan, which is critical to returning Japan to a long-term growth path 
        powered by domestic demand;
Whereas regulatory reform will not only improve market access for United States 
        business and other foreign firms, but will also enhance consumer choice 
        and economic prosperity in Japan;
Whereas a sustained recovery of the Japanese economy is vital to a sustained 
        recovery of Asian economies;
Whereas the Japanese economy must serve as one of the main engines of growth for 
        Asia and for the global economy;
Whereas the Governments of the United States and Japan reconfirmed the critical 
        importance of deregulation, competition, and regulatory reform when the 
        2 Governments established the Enhanced Initiative on Deregulation and 
        Competition Policy in 1997;
Whereas telecommunications is a critical sector requiring reform in Japan, where 
        the market is hampered by a history of laws, regulations, and 
        monopolistic practices that do not meet the needs of a competitive 
        market;
Whereas as the result of Japan's laws, regulations, and monopolistic practices, 
        Japanese consumers and Japanese industry have been denied the broad 
        benefits of innovative telecommunications services, cutting edge 
        technology, and lower prices that competition would bring to the market;
Whereas Japan's significant lag in developing broadband and Internet services, 
        and Japan's lag in the entire area of electronic commerce, is a direct 
        result of a noncompetitive telecommunications regulatory structure;
Whereas Japan's lag in developing broadband and Internet services is evidenced 
        by the following: (1) Japan has only 17,000,000 Internet users, while 
        the United States has 80,000,000 Internet users; (2) Japan hosts fewer 
        than 2,000,000 websites, while the United States hosts over 30,000,000 
        websites; (3) electronic commerce in Japan is valued at less than 
        $1,000,000,000, while in the United States electronic commerce is valued 
        at over $30,000,000,000; and (4) 19 percent of Japan's schools are 
        connected to the Internet, while in the United States 89 percent of 
        schools are connected;
Whereas the disparity between the United States and Japan is largely caused by 
        the failure of Japan to ensure conditions that allow for the development 
        of competitive networks which would stimulate the use of the Internet 
        and electronic commerce;
Whereas leading edge foreign telecommunications companies, because of their high 
        level of technology and innovation, are the key to building the 
        necessary telecommunications infrastructure in Japan, which will only be 
        able to serve Japanese consumers and industry if there is a fundamental 
        change in Japan's regulatory approach to telecommunications; and
Whereas deregulating the monopoly power of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone 
        Corporation would help liberate Japan's economy and allow Japan to take 
        full advantage of information technology: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the appropriate officials in the executive branch 
        should implement vigorously the call for Japan to undertake a 
        major regulatory reform in the telecommunications sector, the 
        so-called ``Telecommunications Big Bang'';
            (2) a ``Telecommunications Big Bang'' must address 
        fundamental legislative and regulatory issues within a strictly 
        defined timeframe;
            (3) the new telecommunications regulatory framework should 
        put competition first in order to encourage new and innovative 
        businesses to enter the telecommunications market in Japan;
            (4) the Government of Japan should ensure that Nippon 
        Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) and its affiliates 
        (the NTT Group) are prevented from using their dominant 
        position in the wired and wireless market in an anticompetitive 
        manner; and
            (5) the Government of Japan should take credible steps to 
        ensure that competitive carriers have reasonable, cost-based, 
        and nondiscriminatory access to the rights-of-way, facilities, 
        and services controlled by NTT, the NTT Group, other utilities, 
        and the Government of Japan, including--
                    (A) access to interconnection at market-based 
                rates;
                    (B) unrestricted access to unbundled elements of 
                the network belonging to NTT and the NTT Group; and
                    (C) access to public roads for the installation of 
                facilities.
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