JapanTelecommunications Business Act, Equipment Standards, Management Rules and Chief Equipment Manager
Telecommunications Business Act (電気通信事業法, Act 86 of 1984), Arts. 41, 43, 44 and 44-3
In force since .
A sector security regimes rule binding private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Security, Governance
As of .
What it requires
- Applies to a telecommunications carrier that installs telecommunications line facilities (Article 41(1)), and, for the management rules and the chief manager, to a carrier whose equipment falls under Article 41(1) to (5); reached by declaring that you provide telecom services. An app or online service that only carries traffic over another carrier's network is not within Article 41(1).
- Maintain the telecommunications equipment you use for your business in conformity with the technical standards the ministerial order sets (Article 41(1)).
- Draw up management rules for that equipment that set out the management policy, structure and methods and the appointment of the chief equipment manager, and notify them to the Minister before you start your business (Article 44(1) and (2)); notify any change without delay (Article 44(3)).
- Appoint a chief telecommunications equipment manager who meets the ministerial order's requirements, and notify the Minister of the appointment or dismissal without delay (Article 44-3(1) and (2)).
- Comply with a ministerial order to repair or modify non-conforming equipment, or to comply with or change your management rules (Articles 43 and 44-2).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Article 186 punishes the violations it lists with a fine of up to 2,000,000 yen.
Penalty structure
Article 186 sets a fine of up to 2,000,000 yen for the violations it lists.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- JPY
- Fixed cap
- 2,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, who may order repairs, a change to the management rules, compliance with them, or the dismissal of a chief manager.
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- What do the technical standards require of an operator, given that they sit in a ministerial ordinance this row does not state?
What this law does
Article 41(1) of the Act requires a telecommunications carrier that installs telecommunications line facilities to keep the telecommunications equipment it uses for its business in conformity with the technical standards the ministerial order sets. Article 41(6) requires those technical standards to ensure that equipment damage or failure does not seriously impede service, that service quality is appropriate and that the secrecy of communications is not violated.
Article 43(1) lets the Minister order a carrier to repair or modify equipment that does not meet the technical standards, or restrict its use. Article 44(1) requires a carrier to draw up management rules for its business equipment and to notify them to the Minister before starting its business. Article 44-3(1) requires a carrier to appoint a chief telecommunications equipment manager who supervises the equipment management policy, structure and methods.
A fine of up to 2,000,000 yen punishes the violations listed in Article 186 of the Act. One listed violation is failing to appoint the chief telecommunications equipment manager that Article 44-3(1) requires. The Act took effect on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app provides telecom services.