NTT was formed on April 1st 1985 (Showa 60). This was 95 years after the Japanese telephone service started as a government body in 1890 (Meiji 23). This marked the end of a monopoly in the telecommunications industry that had lasted more than 30 years since the establishment of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation in 1952 (Showa 27). It meant that a number of business entities could now freely participate in the market on a competitive basis and operate communications services. Along with privatization, the Public Telecommunications Law was replaced with the Telecommunications Business Law and the use of telephones and telephone lines was deregulated.

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