Translated: 24 August 2004
* Note: This translation is made only for reference. The Japanese language version ofthis report is the original document. For accuracy, please refer to the Japanese version.

JP Domain Name
Registry Report（July 2004）

6 July 2004
Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.(JPRS)
http://jprs.jp/

Copyright © 2004 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

Introduction
Since its establishment, Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd. (JPRS) has been dedicated tomaintain the Internet infrastructure by carrying out management and administration of .JP
top-level domain. Accomplishing such tasks requires strong commitment to pursue
public interest as well as technical competency, as these are inseparably connected to
the function of the Internet as a whole.
We therefore believe it is critical to report our activities to the public to spell out what isgoing on in the JP domain space.
This is the first volume of our annual report explaining our major activities, challenges,
and future strategies. As this is our first attempt to issue a report, this volume is madeup as a compilation of reports from 2001, when our services were launched, to March
2004. We sincerely hope this would be of help for all of the readers to understand .JP
and its registry.

1

Table of Contents
1. REGISTY ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................3
1-1 GOAL OF JPRＳ AS THE JP DOMAIN NAME REGISTRY ..............................................3
1-2 SPECIFIC CHALLENGES ..............................................................................................4
1-3 EFFORTS TO IMPROVE SERVICES ...............................................................................52001 ..............................................................................................................................62002 ..............................................................................................................................92003 ............................................................................................................................12
2004 (January-March)...............................................................................................15
1-4 ROUND UP OF THE PAST ACTIVITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE................16
2. MID-TERM VISION REGARDING JP DOMAIN NAME REGISTRY SERVICES...17
3. REFERENCE DATA ..................................................................................................................................19
3-1 TRANSITION OF NUMBER OF REGISTERED OF JP DOMAIN NAMES ...........................19
3-2 BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED JP DOMAIN NAMES .......................21
3-3 TRANSITION OF NUMBER OF ACCREDITED REGISTRARS ..........................................22
4. REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................................23
4-1 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY ......................................................................................23
4-2 JPRS PRESS RELEASE RELATED JP DOMAIN NAMES...............................................24

2

1. Registry Activities
1-1 Goal of JPRS as the JP Domain Name Registry
Main objective of JPRS as the registry for .JP domain name is to provide JP registry
services that contribute to the society by continuously improving value of .JP domainname in the environment where JPRS competes its technical performance with other
Top Level Domains (TLDs) and similar services, in pursuit of gaining stronger support
from local and global Internet community.
In January 2001, JPRS defined the following as the four values of our services.
- Reliability- Stability- Usability- Fee Performance: establishing reliable domain names in global society: operating and administering stable domain name system: establishing domain names that meet users’ needs: providing services with internationally competitive priceSince its establishment, JPRS has been striving for quality services under these four
values while maintaining and improving advantages of JP domain name registration
service that Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC) had built up. Since JPRS
succeeded from JPNIC the management and administration of .JP top-level domain in
April 2004, these concepts have been applied as the principle of the whole .JP
top-level domain. In addition, JPRS is paying special attentions to conduct theregistry business in consideration of fairness and neutrality.

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1-2 Specific Challenges
In order to fulfill user's needs, JPRS nailed down following issues to conduct registry
operation referring to "Memorandum from JPNIC to JPRS Regarding Policy of JP
Domain Name Registration," which had documented critical issues to consider insucceeding the management and administration from JPNIC.
Information Disclosure and Protection of Personal Information
Registrants of JP domain names are not only businesses or organizations but also
individuals, and thereby registration data of JP domain names include personal
information. How JPRS should balance disclosure principle and personal
information protection?
Review of the Registration Rules and Contractual Framework
The relationship between the registry and JP Registrars has been changing from theone based on autonomous cooperation to the one based on commercial contracts.
How JPRS should clarify each party’s roles and responsibilities?
Review of JP Domain Names Design
・ Local Presence (Requirement of Domestic Addresses)
Under the current registration rules, a JP domain name holder should be an entity
who resides within Japan. Should JPRS maintain this requirement?
・ "One domain name per organization" principle in Organizational and Geographic
Type JP Domain Names.
The rule governing registration of Organizational/Geographic Type JP Domain
Names states that one entity can register only one domain name. Should JPRS
continue to hold this rule? How JPRS handle the current situation where one
entity might end up registering several Organizational/Geographic Type JP
Domain Names due to company merger or dispute resolutions?
・ Review of Current Design of Organizational Type JP domains and Introduction of
New Organizational TypeTen years have passed since Organizational Type JP Domain Names were set up,
and actual kinds and characteristics of registrants’ organizational types have been
44

diversifying and expanding. Should JPRS now reassess the present positions
and roles of the Organizational Type domains? Or should we add any neworganizational type?
・ Handling of JP Domain Names Failing to Meet the Registration Requirements
There are some JP domain names that, for certain reason, end up failing to meetthe registration requirements and therefore might cause disputes or prevent
smooth disputes resolution. Also, weakened credibility of registration information
could block operations. How should JPRS handle these JP domain names andprevent similar cases from happening?
Structure of JP Domain Name Management and Administration
・ Delegation of Evaluation Procedure
To streamline the process to evaluate qualifications for JP domain nameregistration, should JPRS delegate the task to third parties?
・ Criteria for Selecting JP Registrars and Terminating Contract
JP Registrars are the interface with registrants and a key of .JP registry services.
In order to keep Registrars' service quality to protect registrants, how should JPRS
establish criteria for selecting the registrars and terminating contracts with them?
Simplifying Procedure and Improving Credibility
How to properly simplify registration and administration processes and at the sametime improve credibility of those processes?
Improving Stability of JP DNS
To maintain and further improve stability of JP DNS operations with which registereddomain names are used appropriately and conveniently?

1-3 Efforts to Improve Services
To resolve the challenges listed in 1-2 above, JPRS, as the JP domain name registry,has been making effort to refine our services and to increase values of JP domainnames.

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5

2001
Established in December 2000, JPRS effectively commenced its business operation in
2001. Following the introduction of the General-use JP domain names, the main
objectives in our activities were placed on promoting awareness and usages ofGeneral-use JP domain names. Also in that year, JPRS carried out a number ofpromotion measures such as introducing companies that use JP domain names fortheir marketing, sales and marketing activities to promote registration, and rolling out
advertisements.
February 2001: Started Registration of General-Use JP Domain Names
As awareness of domain names increased, user's needs became varied. Voices
like "we want to register several domain names for our company," "I'd like to have adomain name through simpler procedure and in lower price," and "we want to use
Japanese characters for our domain name" were often heard. To materialize theseemerging needs, JPRS established a General-use JP domain name and launched
the sunrise period on 22 February, 2001.
In the introduction of the new domain name space, JPRS had to minimize anticipatedconfusions such as conflicts with existing JP domain name spaces, disputes overtrademarks including cyber-squatting, and technical problems including system down
due to concentrated applications. Therefore, JPRS adopted staged preliminary
registration periods:
・ Priority Registration Application Period: (22 February -23 March 2001)
Registration requests from the following entities were accepted.
- Organizational and Geographic Type JP domain holders who wish to register
the same string in General-use JP domain name space. (Category 1)- Trademark or service mark holders, individuals who wish to register his/her own
personal name and university that wish to register its name as the General-use
JP domain name. (Category 2)
When conflicting applications were submitted over one string, the application of
Category 1 would take priority.
When more than one applicant in Category 1 conflict over the same string, the one
who had registered the string under the Organizational Type domain name would
be entitled. When two parties within Category 2 compete over a name, the one
who won a draw was able to register the name. JPRS also prepared a means in
6

6

which draw losers could raise objection when they consider winner’s applicationbasis as nonconforming to the registration requirement.
・ Concurrent Registration Application Period: (2-23 April, 2001) (Category 3)
All the applications arrived during this period were treated as submitted at thesame time. When several parties applied for a same domain name, successful
registrants were chosen by a draw. This period was set up to mitigate massed
incoming of applications at the beginning of formal registration.
・ First-Come-First-Served Basis Registration Application Period: (7 May, 2001~)
Following the sunrise period, JPRS started to accept applications on afirst-come-first-served basis and began DNS operation for General-use JP domainnames.
In the sunrise period, around 69,000 and 120,000 applications were submitted in the
Priority Registration Period and the Concurrent Registration Period respectively.
Consequently, 62,000 and 56,000 general JP domain names were registered ineach of these phases.
These preliminary registration periods encouraged smooth start of the whole registry
operation avoiding system down due to concentrated submission of applications andclaims against the draw results. The number of claim cases was less than 10.
Together with JP-DRP (JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy), theseprocedures worked well to curb disputes over domain names.
Other measures also geared up the launch of the new domain name space:reserving general nouns and the names of public and local authorities; documenting
specification of Japanese characters usable in Japanese JP domain names, and ofequivalents of characters.
This whole process was praised as the best practice for introducing new domainname space and set an example for many other TLDs.

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July 2001：Hosted " the1st JP Partners' Meeting":
JPNIC had held several "JP Registrars meeting" in a year as a place for theRegistrars to exchange information. JPRS succeeded this activity from JPNIC
under the name of "the JP Partners' Meeting," expressing its wish to make themeeting a forum for consultation with its business partners, i.e., JP Registrars, and for
information exchanges instead of just a meeting of one-way communication. JPRS
has hosted four of such meetings by the end of 2003 since its first meeting in July
2001.
August 2001: Launched a New Service for Browsing Japanese JP Domain
Names with Keyword Search of Microsoft® Internet Explorer (IE)JPRS has been making a collaborated effort to standardize IDN aware technologies
with JPNIC. Along with that, JPRS participated in the Japanese Domain Names
Association (JDNA) in developing technical environment for Japanese JP domainnames at application level. In addition, JPRS offered a service which enabled usersof Microsoft® Internet Explorer (hereafter "IE") to access web pages that haveJapanese JP domain names. This service used technology developed and operated
by RealNames Corporation (US). This service continued until RealNames stopped
its operation in May 2002.

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2002
In 2002, the phased transfer of management and administration of .JP top-leveldomain from JPNIC to JPRS was completed, and JPRS officially started to carry out
full registry service for the whole JP domain name space under the contracts executed
between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and
JPNIC, which enhanced stability and reliability of its services. Also, JPRS improved
registration procedures and customer support. For example, it articulated accessauthorization for Organizational and Geographic Type JP Domain Name in addition toGeneral-Use JP Domain Name. All these efforts contributed to ensuring secureusage environment of JP domain names.
January 2002: Signed “JP Domain Name Management and Administration
Transfer Agreement”
JPRS executed the “JP Domain Name Management and Administration Transfer
Agreement" with JPNIC to clarify details for the transfer provisions, roles andresponsibilities of JPNIC and JPRS respectively, to ensure that the management andadministration of .JP top-level domain shall be carried out in the public interest.
February 2002: Signed “ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement”
JPRS signed the "ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement (.jp)" with ICANN, where roles andresponsibilities of JPRS, ICANN, JPNIC and the Japanese government were defined.
This was a milestone in the Internet history in Japan; it started to function based on asolid contractual relationship pursuing reliability and stability.
March 2002: JP Domain Name Advisory Committee Established
JP Domain Name Advisory Committee was established as a structure to guarantee
fairness and neutrality of registration processes. Its goals and functions as well asactivities were defined reflecting public comments gathered by JPNIC.

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April 2002: Transfer of Management and Administration of .JP Top-Level
Domain Completed
Based on the “JP Domain Name Management and Administration Transfer
Agreement" of January 2002 and "ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement (.jp)" of February
2002, management and administration of .JP top-level domain was transferred fromJPNIC to JPRS barring some exceptions.
At the same time, JPRS laid out the framework of "data escrow" in which registrydata was deposited to the third party organization. The system enhanced stability
and integrity of registry data by storing them for possible reconstruction in
emergency, when JPRS is not able to continue the management and administration.
Also, to improve its customer support service, JPRS extended the operating hours of
its Call Center.
May 2002: Conducted Measures to Restore JP DNSIn order to make the whole JP DNS more technically sound, JPRS established a task
force in collaboration with JPNIC and Widely Integrated Distributed Environment(WIDE) Project, and started its operation.
The task force’s primary mission was to solve failure problems caused by wrong
DNS setup. It observed and analyzed status of troubles and published the results,
knowledge and information for DNS engineers. These activities internationally set
precedents in this field.
May 2002: Enhanced Information Protection through PGP Encrypted
Applications
Regarding Organizational and Geographic Type JP Domain Names, registration
applications are submitted by e-mails. JPRS introduced the PGP encryption
technology to protect interactions between JPRS and JP Registrars, so thatimportant information wouldn't be stolen by outsiders.

1010June 2002: Eliminated Risks of Erroneous Update of Registry Data Base
It had been difficult to limit access authorizations for each domain name, since
several Registrars were involved in an application for one Organizational or
Geographic Type Domain Name. Therefore, accidental alterations of the registrydatabase by third parties occurred sometimes. In order to avoid this problem, JPRS
cleaned up the JP Registrar system by associating one JP domain name with one
Registrar. Then it introduced the authorization system to clarify access right toeliminate erroneous updates by third parties.
October 2002: Started Distribution of Japanese JP Domain Plug-in for Microsoft
Internet Explorer, "i-NavTM"
To meet growing demands for improving user environment of Japanese JP domainnames, JPRS started distribution of i-NavTM plug-in which enabled the users ofMicrosoft® Internet Explorer (IE) to browse Web pages using Japanese .JP
domain names. The plug-in was originally developed by VeriSign, Inc. (US), and ,in collaboration with them, JPRS made it compatible to Japanese JP Domain Name.
October 2002: Introduced "LG.JP," a JP Domain Name Space for Local
Governments
JPRS introduced "LG.JP" for registration of local governments, which aligned with theestablishment of e-government and e-municipalities in 2003. This was the results oflong-term investigation and discussion by JPNIC and JPRS to respond to therequest from the council of Local Government Wide Area Network (LGWAN), a
collective decision making body of Japanese local authorities. Receiving advice
from JP Domain Name Advisory Committee, JPRS decided to establish ”LG.JP” forthe benefit of Japanese society and the Internet.
At the same time, JPRS accredited the Local Authorities Systems Development
Center (LASDEC) as the LG.JP Registrar, considering recommendation from thecouncil of LGWAN and its capability to coordinate local authorities. As of March
2004, around 3,000 names are registered under LG.JP.

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2003
In 2003, JPRS started to implement the basic policies regarding the registration of JP
domain names. These policies were developed in accordance with the advice fromthe JP Domain Name Advisory Committee presented in 2002.
Similarly, JPRS committed itself in marketing activities to improve the brand image of
JP Domain Name and to propose effective usage of JP Domain Name forcommercial/promotion purposes. Additionally, JPRS made considerable efforts tofurther develop IDN user environment at the application level in consistence with thetechnical standard (RFC: Request for Comments) regarding IDN technology.

March 2003: RFCs for IDN Issued
As a result of JPRS’s active effort to standardize IDN technology and to spread IDN
usages through activities in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and JDNA,
RFCs were finalized and issued. Any protocol used on the Internet shall be definedand documented in RFC. Also, JPRS contributed to document the "Internet draft"
regarding IDN as a basis for the relevant RFCs.

March 2003: Interfaces for JP Domain Name Registration Application for
Organizational and Geographic Type JP Domain Name Integrated
To minimize impact on users caused by the transfer of management andadministration of JP domain name from JPNIC, JPRS had shared the service
interface of Organizational and Geographic Type JP Domain Name, even after thetransfer of overall responsibility was completed in April 2002.
In March 2003, all interfaces related to JP Domain Name were integrated into JPRS
interface. At the same time, JPRS automated some part of registration process
and improved efficiency of its operation.

1212April 2003: Modified Registration Rule of Organizational and Geographic TypeJP Domain Name for Merged Companies
To improve usability of JP Domain Name, JPRS modified the registration rules for
Organizational and Geographic Type JP Domain Name. Before this modification,
any merged company registrant could hold both old and new domain names for 6
months only. However, to cope with increasing corporate mergers, JPRS changed
the rule to give such merged companies opportunity to extend the period dependingon situations.
June 2003: Seminars Held for Newly Accredited JP Registrars
To maintain and improve quality of service related to JP Domain Name, JPRS
hosted seminars for newly accredited JP Registrars. JPRS plans to continue tohold the seminars reflecting the Registrars' opinions.
July 2003: Started RFC-based Operation of Japanese JP Domain Name
According to the Guideline for Implementation of IDN released by ICANN in June
2003 (JPRS took some roles with other TLDs in developing this guideline.), JPRS
made its registration service of Japanese JP Domain Name compliant to the RFCs.
This compliance made web sites with Japanese JP domain names accessible
through RFC-based browsers. Concurrently, JPRS upgraded the i-NavTM plug-in
into the RFC- compatible version.
August 2003: Dispersal of JP DNS and Integration of Server NameJPRS started full-scale dispersed operation of JP DNS in Tokyo and Osaka.
Before that time, all the JP DNS servers had been placed in Tokyo and needed totake measures to improve crisis management. In March 2002, servers managed in
WIDE Project were moved to Osaka. Then, the network that contained this server
was also moved to the place in August 2003. At the same time, JP DNS servers'
names were changed into uniform ones (a~f.dns.jp) to promote efficiency in DNS
processing and to clarify their management.
By doing so, the DNS servers
gained capacity to provide better availability in emergency or disasters.
November 2003: Simplified Procedures for Registration of Organizational andGeographic Type JP Domain Name
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JPRS relaxed its rule and simplified the registration procedures to further improvetheir services for customers.
First of all, JPRS modified the registration rule to allow entities to register
Organizational/Geographic Type JP domain name up to 6 months before
incorporation, regardless of completion of provisional registration of their company
name to the register of Japan. Formerly, registering a JP domain name of a newcompany/organization before its formal incorporation was allowed only when thecompany/organization possessed an official certificate of provisional registration
issued by the Japanese register. JPRS eased the rule, as it recognized the factthat provisional registration is not commonly applied for by companies, andincreasing demand of the new companies to employ appropriate domain name for
their Web site or e-mail in a timely manner .
Secondly, JPRS exempted submission of seal registration certificate of applicants
for JP domain name registration in certain cases.
Thirdly, JPRS modified the rule to accommodate revision of Japanese law. In thecase where, due to reasonable reasons like revision of Japanese law it is based on,a Japanese independent administrative institution is reorganized and becomes nolonger qualified to hold the formerly-registered domain name, it may continue toregister the name.
December 2003: Launched "jajp.jp," a Japanese JP Web Site for Mobile Internet
Services
As a part of the attempt to develop user environment of Japanese JP domain names,
JPRS launched Japanese JP access site “jajp.jp” (http://jajp.jp/), from which mobile
users can access numerous Japanese JP domain sites by inputting domain nameswith Japanese characters. JPRS is also encouraging interested companies todevelop such environment that allows direct access using Japanese JP domainnames from browsers in mobile devices.

14142004 (January-March)
In the first quarter in 2004, JPRS made remarkable achievements in improving
environment to adopt Japanese JP Domain Name, and in ensuring stability of JP
DNS.
February 2004: Commenced "Nihongo JP Navi" Service to Provide Information
on Japanese JP Domain Name Environment
JPRS started an online service "Nihongo JP Navi" to provide information on how to
adopt IDN technologies for people who tried to access websites by typing inJapanese JP domain name through non-IDN-aware browser. This attempt was apart of efforts to promote awareness and environment for Japanese JP domainnames.
To ensure accountability, JPRS explained the service to DNS operators and theother community members, and called for public opinions before starting thisservice.

February 2004: Implemented IP Anycast Technology to JP DNS
To improve reliability of JP DNS, JPRS adopted IP Anycast Technology in "a.dns.jp"
and "d.dns.jp", operated by JPRS and IIJ respectively. Introducing this technology
could allow DNS servers of same names be deployed in diverse locations offering
quality services, supports for higher loads, and improved durability.

Research and Development for Next Generation DNS
Currently, JPRS is conducting research and development focusing on DNSSC (DNS
Security Extensions) in order to improve DNS security. Adoption of public-key
encryption and digital signature in DNS information would materialize securer
environment for users. JPRS is trying to maintain secure operation of DNS and be
active on research and development of new technologies.

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1-4 Round Up of the Past Activities and Challenges for the Future
JPRS considers that it can offer good services only when the four basic values of JP
Domain Name registry service are well-balanced, that is: reliability, usability, stability
and fee performance. So far, JPRS has focused on offering reliable, usable, andstable services for customers, emphasizing a secure usage.
For JPRS, the past 3 years was the period for settling the issues that existed. JPRS
underwent several major changes in its services such as introduction of General-use
JP Domain Name and transfer of management and administration of .JP top-leveldomain.
Now, these attempts are producing results, and that encourages JPRS to prepare formore balanced and upgraded activities to pursue quality services. JPRS will strive
for making .JP more eligible and user-friendly domain.
Keeping users' and registrants' needs in mind, JPRS recognizes that it is always
necessary to enhance usability of JP Domain Name. Increasing frequency of JP
DNS updates which is currently once a day, and cutting short a service down time due
to monthly system maintenances are on its agenda. Similarly, services for JP
Registrars should be improved to consolidate the cooperative framework, which will
always be the foundation of our registry operation. In addition, continuous effort toenhance user environment of Japanese JP Domain Names and to increase its
awareness will be needed more than ever.
There is no established goal on the way of JPRS activities to promote reliability andstability of registry operation. At all times, there will be challenges JPRS has to tackle
with, which are changeable due to social situations and needs. Some urgent matters
include protection of personal information, crisis management and improvement of
security and of infrastructures to provide stable services.

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2. Mid-term Vision Regarding JP Domain Name Registry Services
Regarding management and administration of .JP top-level domain, JPRS isdetermined to continue to expedite processes balancing reliability, stability, usability
and fee performance. Followings are our policies toward each of the four values.

[Reliability]
JPRS continues its endeavor to improve reliability so that domain name registrants andusers can use the domain space securely. Specifically, JPRS is going to try toenhance information security and protection of personal information further. At thesame time, JPRS is facilitating its security measures for emergency by strengthening
existing registry data escrow from July 2004.
[Stability]
JPRS always tries to provide stable registration system as well as JP DNS service.
Concern of JPRS is laid upon not only stability in ordinary time shown in durability
against failures, but also service sustainability in terms of crisis management.
Especially regarding JP DNS, JPRS is aspiring to following four points:- Optimizing server deployment- Consolidating operational framework- Enhancing query performance- Improving response to users[Usability]
JPRS will commit itself to materialize user-friendly JP Domain Name by improving
rules and procedures for registration. JPRS also tries hard to widen use of JP
Domain Name offering new convenient features such as the names easily used in
mobile Internet environment and Japanese JP Domain Name.

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[Fee Performance]
JPRS will work on reduction in fee when it has adequately ensured reliability, stability
and usability which are essential for secure use of JP Domain Name.
Specifically, JPRS is planning to reduce registration fee for General-use JP Domain
Name in the fourth quarter of 2004 and then reduce renewal fee in later 2005.
Furthermore, JPRS is willing to continue to tackle further fee revision balancing
increase on domain name registration and investment in pursuing reliability, stability
and usability.
[Framework of Implementation]
JP Domain Name, under fierce and constant competition with other TLDs, has to keep
its appeals for customers as the secure domain name space. In that sense, JPRS
will focus on maintaining and strengthening its structures for neutral and fair registry
service.
Disclosing information regarding its services will be counted on to activate informationexchanges with registrants and users. Interaction with the community is always
valuable asset for JPRS.

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3. Reference Data

Organizational/Geographic Type

General-Use

2000/07

Number of Registered JP
Domain Names

1994/07

3-1 Number of Registered of JP Domain Names

600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000

Year/Month

1992/7
1992/10
1993/1
1993/4
1993/7
1993/101994/1
1994/4
1994/7
1994/10
1995/1
1995/4
1995/7
1995/10
1996/1

Organizational/Geographic
Type JP Domain Name

843
912
953
--1,085
1,216
1,341
1,505
1,697
1,884
2,206
2,625
3,157
3,780
4,781

19

General-Use JP
Domain Name-------------------------------

2003/07

2002/07

2001/07

1999/07

1998/07

1997/07

1996/07

1995/07

1993/07

1992/07

0

Total

843
912
953
--1,085
1,216
1,341
1,505
1,697
1,884
2,206
2,625
3,157
3,780
4,781

19

Year/Month

Organizational/Geographic
Type JP Domain Name

General-Use JP
Domain Name

1996/4
1996/7
1996/10
1997/1
1997/4
1997/7
19970/1
1998/1
1998/4
1998/7
1998/101999/1
1999/4
1999/7
1999/10
2000/1
2000/4
2000/7
2000/10
2001/1
2001/4
2001/7
2001/10
2002/1
2002/4
2002/7
2002/10
2003/1
2003/4
2003/7
2003/10
2004/1
2004/4

6,432
8,942
12,184
15,477
19,54324,25628,92733,73938,921
44,52750,98058,54968,72382,327
100,947
124,573
157,874
190,709216,254234,294
249,475
264,209274,422283,340
291,881295,744
298,822
297,413
298,391
299,667
304,886
309,193
315,335----------------------------------------52,217
152,804
169,064
183,499
196,897
186,900
195,050
205,493
218,146
219,986
232,655
245,100
258,323

Total

6,432
8,942
12,184
15,477
19,54324,25628,92733,73938,921
44,52750,98058,54968,72382,327
100,947
124,573
157,874
190,709216,254234,294
301,692
417,013443,486
466,839488,778
482,644493,872
502,906
516,537
519,653
537,541554,293573,658

For latest information, please refer to JPRS Web site（http://jpinfo.jp/stats/）.

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3-2 Breakdown of the Number of Registered JP Domain Names
Breakdown of the Number of Registered JP Domain Names as of April 1, 2004：
General-Use
Japanese
7.7%

CO
44.2%

GO
0.1%

Organizational/
Geographic Type
55.0%

General-Use ASCII
37.3%

OR
3.2%
NE
3.0%
GR
1.7%

AC
0.5%
AD
0.1%
Geographic Type0.7%

ED
LG 0.8%0.5%（Number of Domain Names）

Organizational/Geoｇraphic Type JP Domain Name

AD
316

AC
3,068

CO
253,806

GO
827

OR
18,617NE
17,459

GR
9,579

ED
4,394

LG
3,001

General-Use JP Domain
Name
ASCII
Japanese

213,900

44,423For latest information, please refer to JPRS Web site（http://jpinfo.jp/stats/）.

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21

Geographic

4,268

3-3 Number of Accredited Registrars

Organizational/Geographical Type

Number of Registrars

General-Use

600
500
400
300
200
100

2004/04

2004/01

2003/10

2003/07

2003/04

2003/01

2002/10

2002/07

2002/04

2002/01

2001/10

2001/07

2001/04

2001/01

0（Number of Registrars）
Year/Month

2001/4
2001/7
2001/10
2002/1
2002/4
2002/7
2002/10
2003/1
2003/4
2003/7
2003/10
2004/1
2004/4

Organizational/GeographicalType JP Domain Name--------482
530
547
560
559
565
555
557
556

22

General-Use JP
Domain Name

443
480
487
490
504
510
535
546
546
553
553
559
560

Total
（Accumulation）

443
480
487
490
986
1,040
1,082
1,106
1,105
1,118
1,108
1,116
1,116

22

4. Reference
4-1 History
2000
2001

2002

2003

2004

December:February:

JPRS Established.
General-use JP Domain Priority Registration Phase started.

April:

General-use JP Domain
started.

May:

General-use JP Domain Formal FCFS Registration started.

February:

JPRS signed the “ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement (.jp)” withICANN.

April:

Management and administration of .JP Top-Level Domain
were transferred from JPNIC to JPRS.

October:

Second Level Domain
was established.

October:

JPRS started distribution of i-Nav™ Plug-In which enables
Web-browsing with Japanese-language .JP Domain Names.

January:

Total number of JP Domain Name registration reached 500,000.

June:

IDN Domain Name service was endorsed by ICANN.

July:

RFC-based Japanese JP Domain Name registration service
started.

December:"Japanese JP Domain Access Site" for mobile phones
was established.

February:

IP Anycast technology was introduced in JP DNS service("a.dns.jp","d.dns.jp")

February:"Nihongo JP Navi" service started.

23

Concurrent Registration Phase

for

local

governments,"LG.JP"23

4-2 JPRS Press Releases Regarding JP Domain Name
* Releases written in Japanese language[2001]
25 January:

JPRS Announced its Establishment

22 February:

Priority Registration Period for General-use JP Domain Name Started

29 March:

Concurrent Registration Period for General-use JP Domain Name
Started9 April:

Registration of Business Names and Trademarks Increasedin General-use JP Domain Name
- Status of General-use JP Domain Name Applications -26 April:More Than Half of All Applications in General-use JP Domain Names
Are Competing- Status of General-use JP Domain Name Concurrent Registration
Applications-

9 May:

Total Number of FCFS-Based Application for General-use JP Domain
Names Reached 10,000- Status of General-use JP Domain Name Formal Registration -31 July:

JPRS Announces a New Service for Browsing Japanese JP Domain
Names- Japanese JP Domain Names Become Accessible throughMicrosoft® Internet Explorer -27 August:

JPRS Today Launches a New Service for Browsing Japanese JP
Domain Names2424[2002]28 February:

JPRS Signed an Agreement with ICANN on Management andAdministration of JP Top Level Domain- JPRS Will Start the Management and Administration from April 1 -1 April :Management and Administration of JP Top-Level
Transferred from JPNIC to JPRS
- JPRS Starts Management Operations Today (April 1) -16 May:JPRS Closed the Service for Browsing Web Sites with JapaneseDomain Names through Microsoft® Internet Explorer- JPRS focuses on Establishing a Standardized Environment for the
Use of Japanese Domain Names -3 June:JPRS Starts to Study Introduction of "LG.JP", New Second-Level
Domain for Local Governments- Along with e-Japan Strategy -23 July:

JPRS Decides to Introduce "LG.JP", a New Second-Level Domain for
Local Governments- Registration Starts in October to Realize Electronic Local
Governments in 2003 -1 October:

JPRS Introduces "LG.JP", a New Second-Level Domain for Local
Governments- Registration Starts Today -21 October:

JPRS Starts Distribution of i-Nav™ Plug-In Which Enables
Web-Browsing with Japanese .JP Domain Names

25 October:

RFC Gets Final Approval Regarding Technical Specifications
for Internationalized Domain Name
- Japanese JP domain Names Standardized -25

Domain25

[2003]7 January:

Cumulative Total Number of JP Domain Name Registrations Tops
500,000.
- The World’s 8th ccTLD, Registration of "co.jp" and General-Use JP
Domain Name" on a Roll -7 March:JPRS Will Start RFC-based Japanese JP Domain Name Registrationand Management Services from March 20.
- Internationalized Domain Name(IDN) Standard Published as RFC -17 March:

JPRS Changed Service Migration Schedule for Japanese JP
Domain Name in Compliance with RFC, after Confirming the
Framework with ICANN.
- Getting into Steps with the Rest of the World -20 May:JPRS Created a Web Site, "DNS Related Technical Information"(http://jprs.jp/tech/) Today- DNS Managers Provide Technical Information for Internet
Engineers -26 May:Intec NetCore and JPRS Started Joint Research on Measurement of
Next Generation Internet Diffusion.

23 June:JPRS Starts RFC-based Japanese JP Domain Name Registrationand Management Services on July 10- Service Starts with Agreement on International Framework of
IDN Registration -10 July:

JPRS Launched IDN Standards-Compatible Japanese JP Domain
Name Registration Service on 11 July 2003.

30 July:

JPRS started to distribute IDN standards (RFCs)-compatible i-Nav™
Plug-in for Japanese JP Domain Name Today

5 August:

WIDE Project and JPRS Implemented Full-blown Measures to
Secure Availability of "JP" Domain Server for Emergency
and Disastrous Situation.
26

26

- Starts Geometric Decentralization of JP DNS and Integration of theServer Name 17 November:

JPRS Modified JP Domain Name Registration Services andProcedures.
- To Meet the Needs of Emerging or New Companies -15 December:

JPRS Starts "Japanese JP Access Site"(http://jajp.jp/) Today- Web Site with Japanese JP Domain Names Became Accessible
from Mobile Phones -[2004]
2 February:

JPRS and IIJ Introduce IP Anycast Technology to JP DNS Service- JP DNS Even More Reliable with Better Quality of Service andFault Tolerance -12 February:"Nihongo JP Navi" Service to Start on 18 February- Easy Access to Web Sites from PC with Japanese JP domain
Names Realized -19 February:“Nihongo JP Navi” Service Starts Today- Solution Displayed for Non-IDN-aware PC Browser When
Accessing to Web Sites with Japanese JP Domain Names –July 6th, 2004

First Edition Copyright©2004 Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd.

* Microsoft, Encarta, MSN, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in
the United States and/or other countries.

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