Japan’s cosy telecoms firms are being told to lower prices

WHEN SUGA YOSHIHIDE emerged as the likeliest to succeed Abe Shinzo as Japan’s prime minister, telecoms bosses in Tokyo let out a collective groan. As Mr Abe’s chief cabinet secretary, Mr Suga urged operators to cut prices by as much as 40%. “They are using our public airwaves, an asset of the people,” he said in 2018. “They should not be generating excessive profit.” Since replacing Mr Abe last month, Mr Suga has made competition in mobile services a signature issue. The share prices of Japan’s three big carriers—NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank Corp and KDDI—fell by 10-15% between late August and late September.