Figures released by JEITA (Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association) show that Japanese domestic shipments of mobile handsets saw declines again for the tenth straight month. Shipments in October 2004 plunged 42% year-on-year to 2.4 million units. Handset shipments, excluding PHS (Personal Handyphone System) phones dipped 42% year-on-year to 2.3 million units, while PHS handset volume also slipped to 64,000 units for a 39% decline on year.

 

From April to October, overall domestic handset shipments posted a 21% fall to around 24.4 million units. Mobile handset shipment volume, exclusive of PHS models, contracted 20% on year, reaching just a little over 24 million units, while PHS shipments slid down 60% on year to 388,000 units.

 

The association expects, however, the launch of new services on 3G phones to invigorate the slumping domestic segment. New shipments boosters include higher-speed data transmission that enables users to trade photos quickly.

 

The number of new mobile phone service subscribers registered an increase in October, amounting to 325,000 subscribers. Total subscribers for mobile phone services shifted up 0.4% sequentially, climbing slightly to around 89.5 million subscribers, equivalent to 70.5% of the Japanese population.