Japan Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: July 2026

Report Pages: 235

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Japan leading in 6G developments

Japan has one of the most modern telecom markets globally, with a particularly strong fibre broadband sector. There is already near universal FttP coverage, and fibre accounts for the overwhelming majority of all fixed broadband connections. The government has provided subsidies to fibre providers to ensure than coverage was extended to the less commercially viable areas. To cover maritime and mountainous zones, telcos such as SoftBank have contracts with satellite providers including Eutelsat and Starlink. SoftBank is at the forefront in developing HAPS technology to beam 5G connectivity from space to the ground.

While Japan was relatively slow to adopt LTE, relying instead on incremental upgrades to 3G networks, it has been quick to deploy 5G to ensure that all citizens can take full advantage of opportunities for social inclusion and economic development. To this end, additional spectrum was made available for 5G use, while MNOs were also offered subsidies to ensure that the platform was available in remote areas. The government has similarly promoted 6G developments, with NTT DoCoMo in particular taking the lead in global efforts to standardise the associated technologies.

The mobile market is dominated by three MNOs (NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and SoftBank Mobile). Rakuten Mobile has made impressive inroads in recent years, gaining a 4.1% share of subscribers as of September 2025. Nevertheless, the company’s financial position remains precarious and a drain on its parent company Rakuten Group. The company continues to build out its network, and while it is focussed of providing 5G services in the major metro areas it relies on roaming agreements to offer services elsewhere. Rakuten Mobile has benefited from a streamlined mobile number portability process, which came into effect in May 2023, and this has contributed to its subscriber gains.

Key Developments

Softbank closes applications for its Otoku fixed-line telephone service.
Japan’s main telcos collaborate to create a disaster relief network.
SoftBank trials 7GHz band spectrum for 6G services.
The number of 5G subscribers surpasses the number of LTE subscribers for the first time.
SJC2 cable linking Southeast Asia and Japan is lit.
SoftBank trials HAPS technology using a craft flying at 3km to beam a stable 5G connection to the ground.
Report update includes telcos operating and financial data to September 2025, the regulator’s market updates for Q3 2025, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Key companies mentioned in this report:

NTT, KDDI, SoftBank Mobile, Internet Initiative Japan, eAccess, eMobile, Rakuten, IIJ, JCI, Line Mobile

Key statistics
Regional Asia market comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Telecommunications market

Market overview and analysis

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority

MPHPT/MIC
Radio Regulatory Council
Telecommunications Council
Telecommunications Carriers Association
Japan Internet Providers’ Association (JAIPA)
Legislation

Fixed-line developments

Government investment in infrastructure
Skill building, education, and demand programs
Competition policy
Network non-discrimination
Spectrum policy
Broadband policy
Wholesale / Pricing
Access
Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
MYLINE calling categories

Mobile network developments

Fees for mobile services
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Licensing and spectrum auctions

Mobile market

Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

6G
5G
LTE
3G
GSM
Other infrastructure developments
M-payment

Mobile broadband
Major mobile operators

NTT DoCoMo
KDDI
SoftBank Mobile
Rakuten Mobile
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Fixed-line broadband market

Market overview and analysis
Fixed broadband statistics
Fixed broadband technologies

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Fixed wireless
Other fixed broadband services

Fixed broadband providers

NTT East and West
KDDI
G.fast
Other providers

Fixed network operators

NTT Corporation
KDDI Corporation
SoftBank Corporation
Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ)

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
NTT NGN
Submarine cables

Hokkaido-Sakhalin Cable System (HSCS)
Russia-Japan Cable Network (RJCN)
Trans-Pacific Express Cable Network (TPE)
Pacific Crossing (PC-1)
Google investments
Asia Submarine Express (ASE)
Asia Pacific Gateway (APG)
South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC)
South East Asia-Japan 2 Cable (SJC2)
Japan-US Cable
Myanmar/Malaysia-India-Singapore Transit (MIST)
Apricot
Far North Fiber (FNF)
Candle Submarine Cable System
E2A
Asia Direct Cable (ADC)
AUG East (Asia United Gateway East)
Apricot

Satellite
Data centres
Smart infrastructure

Driverless cars
Smart grids
Smart cities
Kawasaki

Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – 2026 (e)
Table 2 – Increase in the number of telecom carriers – 2015 – 2023
Table 3 – Change in the number of mobile numbers ported – 2012 – 2023
Table 4 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Table 5 – Development of telecom revenue and capex (¥ billion) – 2016 – 2022
Table 6 – Change in voice traffic by type (100 million calls) – 2015 – 2021
Table 7 – Increase in the number of 5G base stations – 2020 – 2023
Table 8 – Increase in the number of 5G subscribers – 2021 – 2025
Table 9 – Increase in KDDI’s 5G penetration rate – 2021 – 2025
Table 10 – Increase in the number of NTT’s 5G subscribers – 2020 – 2025
Table 11 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s 5G base stations – 2020 – 2024
Table 12 – Change in the number of LTE subscribers – 2014 – 2025
Table 13 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s LTE base stations and population coverage – 2020 – 2023
Table 14 – Growth in the number of KDDI’s au PAY members – 2019 – 2025
Table 15 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Table 16 – Change in the number of mobile broadband subscribers by platform– 2017 – 2023
Table 17 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator (million) – 2010 – 2025
Table 18 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2013 – 2025
Table 19 – Development of NTT DoCoMo’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2010 – 2026
Table 20 – Change in NTT DoCoMo’s ARPU by type (¥ / month) – 2017 – 2025
Table 21 – Change in the number of NTT DoCoMo’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Table 22 – Change in the number of NTT DoCoMo’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2011 – 2025
Table 23 – Change in KDDI’s mobile ARPU and churn rate – 2019 – 2025
Table 24 – Change in KDDI’s mobile revenue – 2021 – 2026
Table 25 – Growth in the number of KDDI’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Table 26 – Growth in the number of KDDI’s smartphone subscribers – 2023 – 2025
Table 27 – Change in the number of SoftBank subscribers by segment (million) – 2011 – 2025
Table 28 – Growth in the number of SoftBank Mobile’s smartphone subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Table 29 – Development of SoftBank’s financial data (¥ million) – 2018 – 2026
Table 30 – Development of SoftBank’s EBITDA (¥ billion) – 2018 – 2026
Table 31 – Change in SoftBank’s consumer service revenue by type (¥ billion) – 2018 – 2026
Table 32 – Change in SoftBank’s annualised mobile ARPU and churn rate – 2014 – 2026
Table 33 – Development of Rakuten Mobile’s mobile financial data (¥ million) – 2018 – 2025
Table 34 – Increase in Rakuten Mobile’s mobile traffic per subscriber (GB) – 2022 – 2025
Table 35 – Development of Rakuten Mobile’s mobile ARPU – 2020 – 2025
Table 36 – Development of Rakuten Mobile’s consumer business mobile ARPU by service (¥ / month) – 2020 – 2025
Table 37 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s consumer business mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2020 – 2025
Table 38 – Development of IIJ’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2010 – 2026
Table 39 – Development of IIJ’s mobile revenue by segment (¥ billion) – 2020 – 2026
Table 40 – Growth in the number of IIJ’s mobile subscribers by type – 2019 – 2025
Table 41 – Change in the number of IIJ’s consumer and enterprise internet subscribers – 2009 – 2025
Table 42 – Development of JCI’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2010 – 2026
Table 43 – Development of Line Mobile’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2015 – 2020
Table 44 – Growth in the number of Line Mobile’s subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Table 45 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Table 46 – Change in the number of fixed broadband subscribers by access type – 2011 – 2024
Table 47 – Fall in the number of HFC broadband subscribers – 2017 – 2024
Table 48 – Increase in the number of KDDI’s cable broadband RGUs and connected households (million) – 2010 – 2024
Table 49 – Fall in the number of DSL broadband subscribers – 2017 – 2024
Table 50 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2024
Table 51 – Change in the number of UQ Communications’ fixed wireless broadband subscribers – 2014 – 2025
Table 52 – Change in the number of NTT’s fixed broadband subscribers by segment (million) – 2015 – 2025
Table 53 – Increase in the number of KDDI’s FttP subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Table 54 – NTT Corp’s major shareholders – September 2025
Table 55 – Development of NTT Corp’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2011 – 2026
Table 56 – Development of NTT Corp’s revenue by business segment (¥ billion) – 2022 - 2026
Table 57 – Development of NTT Corp’s capex by business segment (¥ billion) – 2022 - 2026
Table 58 – Change in the number of NTT Corp’s fixed-line subscribers by service (million)– 2015 – 2025
Table 59 – Development of KDDI’s financial data (¥ billion) – 2011 – 2026
Table 60 – Change in KDDI’s fixed-line revenue – 2021 – 2026
Table 61 – Change in KDDI’s capex by sector (¥ billion) – 2011 – 2025
Table 62 – Change in the number of IIJ’s fixed IP contracts by data rate – 2017 – 2025
Table 63 – Increase in IIJ’s contracted bandwidth – 2016 – 2025
Table 64 – Decline in the number of fixed lines and teledensity – 2014 – 2028
Table 65 – Change in the number of fixed-line subscribers by type (thousand) – 2013 – 2022
Table 66 – Decline in fixed-line voice traffic by type (100 million calls) – 2015 – 2021
Table 67 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2011 – 2017
Table 68 – International activated internet bandwidth – 2010 – 2022
Table 69 – Change in the value of Japan’s data centre market (¥ billion) – 2022 – 2027
Table 70 – Historic - Carrier share of mobile telephone and PHS market – 2004 – 2011
Table 71 – Historic - NTT DoCoMo ARPU (¥/month) and churn – 2004 – 2017
Table 72 – Historic - Mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2027
Table 73 – Historic - NTT DoCoMo revenue, net income, capex, and EBITDA (¥ billion) – 2005 – 2010
Table 74 – Historic - KDDI - ARPU (¥ / month) and churn – 2001 – 2017
Table 75 – Historic - SoftBank financial data (¥ billion) – 1995 – 2010
Table 76 – Historic - SoftBank mobile ARPU and churn – 2004 – 2010
Table 77 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers by access type – 1998 – 2010
Table 78 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscriber annual change / market share by access type – 2001 – 2015
Table 79 – Historic - NTT Broadband subscribers (million) and market share by segment – 2004 – 2018
Table 80 – Historic - Japan FttH subscribers by operator and market share – 2017
Table 81 – Historic - Japan FttH subscribers and penetration – 2002 – 2010
Table 82 – Historic – KDDI’s DSL and FttP subscribers – 2005 – 2010
Table 83 – Historic - NTT financial data – 2000 – 2010
Table 84 – Historic - NTT video service subscribers – 2009 – 2017
Table 85 – Historic - KDDI financial data – 2001 – 2010
Table 86 – Historic - KDDI total capital expenditure on mobile and fixed line (¥ billion) – 2005 – 2010
Table 87 – Historic - IIJ revenue and net income (¥ million) – 2006 – 2010
Table 88 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2000 – 2013
Table 89 – Historic - Fixed lines-in service and teledensity – 1993 – 2013
Table 90 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration – 2007 – 2013
Table 91 – Historic - KDDI mobile subscribers – 2004 – 2010
Table 92 – Historic - SoftBank subscribers (millions) by segment – 2007 – 2010
Table 93 – Historic - Internet Users and Penetration – 2007 – 2010
Table 94 – Historic - Total international internet bandwidth – 2007 – 2010

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Asia – Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – Northern Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Central Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – South East Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Northern Asia – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Central Asia – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 11 – South East Asia – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 12 – Change in the number of mobile numbers ported – 2012 – 2023
Chart 13 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Chart 14 – Development of telecom revenue and capex – 2016 – 2022
Chart 15 – Change in voice traffic by type – 2015 – 2021
Chart 16 – Increase in the number of NTT’s 5G subscribers – 2020 – 2025
Chart 17 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s 5G base stations – 2020 – 2024
Chart 18 – Change in the number of LTE subscribers – 2014 – 2025
Chart 19 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s LTE base stations and population coverage – 2020 – 2023
Chart 20 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Chart 21 – Change in the number of mobile broadband subscribers by platform– 2017 – 2023
Chart 22 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2010 – 2025
Chart 23 – Market share of mobile subscribers by operators – 2013 – 2025
Chart 24 – Development of NTT DoCoMo’s financial data – 2010 – 2026
Chart 25 – Change in NTT DoCoMo’s ARPU by type – 2017 – 2025
Chart 26 – Change in the number of NTT DoCoMo’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Chart 27 – Change in the number of NTT DoCoMo’s mobile subscribers by type – 2011 – 2025
Chart 28 – Growth in the number of KDDI’s mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Chart 29 – Change in the number of SoftBank subscribers by segment – 2011 – 2025
Chart 30 – Growth in the number of SoftBank Mobile’s smartphone subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Chart 31 – Development of SoftBank’s financial data – 2018 – 2026
Chart 32 – Development of SoftBank’s EBITDA (¥ billion) – 2018 – 2026
Chart 33 – Change in SoftBank’s consumer service revenue by type – 2018 – 2026
Chart 34 – Development of Rakuten Mobile’s mobile ARPU – 2020 – 2025
Chart 35 – Development of Rakuten Mobile’s consumer business mobile ARPU by service – 2020 – 2025
Chart 36 – Increase in the number of Rakuten Mobile’s consumer business mobile subscribers by type – 2020 – 2025
Chart 37 – Development of IIJ’s revenue and EBITDA – 2010 – 2026
Chart 38 – Development of IIJ’s mobile revenue by segment – 2020 – 2026
Chart 39 – Growth in the number of IIJ’s mobile subscribers by type – 2019 – 2025
Chart 40 – Change in the number of IIJ’s consumer and enterprise internet subscribers – 2009 – 2025
Chart 41 – Development of JCI’s financial data – 2010 – 2026
Chart 42 – Line mobile financial data – 2015 – 2020
Chart 43 – Growth in the number of Line Mobile’s subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Chart 44 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Chart 45 – Fixed broadband subscribers by access type – 2011 – 2024
Chart 46 – Fall in the number of HFC broadband subscribers – 2017 – 2024
Chart 47 – Increase in the number of KDDI’s cable broadband RGUs and connected households– 2010 – 2024
Chart 48 – Fall in the number of DSL broadband subscribers – 2017 – 2024
Chart 49 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2024
Chart 50 – Change in the number of UQ Communications’ fixed wireless broadband subscribers – 2014 – 2025
Chart 51 – Change in the number of NTT’s fixed broadband subscribers by segment – 2015 – 2025
Chart 52 – Increase in the number of KDDI’s FttP subscribers – 2011 – 2025
Chart 53 – Development of NTT Corp’s financial data – 2011 – 2026
Chart 54 – Change in the number of NTT Corp’s fixed-line subscribers by service– 2015 – 2025
Chart 55 – Development of KDDI’s financial data – 2011 – 2026
Chart 56 – Change in KDDI’s capex by sector – 2011 – 2025
Chart 57 – Change in the number of IIJ’s fixed IP contracts by data rate – 2017 – 2025
Chart 58 – Decline in the number of fixed lines and teledensity – 2014 – 2028
Chart 59 – Change in the number of fixed-line subscribers by type – 2013 – 2022

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Asia
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – Asia – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Asia – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – NTT Group’s restructure – March 2022
Exhibit 7 – SoftBank’s operations
Exhibit 8 – Major global/regional submarine cables with landing point in Japan

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Japan Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Japan leading in 6G developments

Key Developments

Key companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Asia market comparison

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views