Japan stiffens mobile rules
By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo
Published: May 15 2000 15:54GMT | Last Updated: May 16 2000 09:01GMT
The Japanese government plans to enforce strict standards for mobile phone emissions in response to
growing concerns about the impact of electromagnetic radiation on the brain.
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications will for the first time make it mandatory for mobile phone
manufacturers to keep their emissions to 2 watts or less for each kilogram of the user's weight.
The Japanese government's decision reflects worldwide concern about the possible health hazard of mobile
phones, which have spread rapidly in Japan. The UK last week decided to impose tougher rules on the
building of masts and the marketing of mobile phones to children.
Mobile phone manufacturers in Japan are required to follow ministry guidelines on electromagnetic
emissions, but these are not enforceable and information disclosure by manufacturers is voluntary. The
new regulations, expected to come into force by next summer, will force manufacturers to submit data on
each new handset model to the ministry, to ensure compliance with the emission requirements.
The level of 2 watts or less for each kilogram of body weight is in line with the standard set by an
international body closely linked with the World Health Organisation. However, it is less strict than
the US standard of 1.6 watts or less per kilogram of body weight.
Mobile phone companies said on Monday they do not expect an immediate impact from the new rule, which is
expected to set the emission level at the same level currently targeted under voluntary guidelines.
"We have had guidelines already. If there are new moves [to make the standards even stricter] we must
consider a response," said an official at Matsushita Communications Industrial, one of the leading
manufacturers of mobile phones in Japan.
"The emission levels of both base stations and terminals are only a fraction of the levels established
by the ministry as safe," says DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile phone operator.
The current maximum level of electromagnetic emission from mobile phones is 0.6 watts for analog phones
and from 0.13 watts to 0.27 watts for digital phones, according to the Association of Radio Industries
and Businesses. As a result, the level of emissions absorbed by the body is significantly lower than in
the US or Europe, the Association notes.
Japan is the second largest market for mobile phones, and penetration of mobile phones is extremely
high, at 45 per cent of the population. The popularity of data transmission, such as e-mail, has been a
big factor behind the rapid spread of mobile phones.
from
news.ft.com
heading=telecommunications
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This seems to be poorly written and missed the SAR part or the specification.
The ANSI/IEEE and NCRP RF safety guidelines recommend that low-power devices such as cellular hand-held phones not cause a localized exposure in excess of specific
absorption rate (SAR) of 1.6W/kg. Studies of human head models using cellular phones have generally reported that the SAR levels are below 1.6 W/kg level as averaged over 1 gram
of tissue under normal conditions of use.
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