In Japan, nine areas have been identified for the development of ITS concept. This article describes the basic principles for realising ITS through public mobile telecommunications networks, citing some examples from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading mobile communications carrier. The Japanese mobile communications market has achieved remarkable growth in the past several years, up to about 60 million subscribers, and therefore, one of the key factors of ITS success depends heavily on how these networks are utilised. Future developments after the planned introduction of IMT-2000 service are elaborated, and the desirable direction of ITS service are suggested from the perspective of mobile communications.
Abstract