2020.1-12

JP Domain Name
Registry ReportJapan Registry Services Co.,Ltd.

Introduction
As technology advances the Internet is being used in more broad and diverse areas ofsociety. Especially in 2020, the spread of COVID-19 accelerated the trend toward
working from home as well as streaming and viewing video online, changing bothpeople’s lifestyles and the dynamics of industries. These shifts highlighted theimportance of the communication infrastructure that underpins Internet services andtechnologies and the significance of the Domain Name System (DNS) and domainnames that form the basis of the Internet.
With this background, the number of JP domain names surpassed 1.6 million in
October 2020. As of January 2021, JP domain name registrations exceeded 1.62
million. Of that, 1.09 million are registered as General-use JP domain names,
accounting for about 70% of total registrations. 510,000 names are Organizational
Type JP domain names, the domain name space categorized by organizational type ofregistrants. Over 440,000 names are registered under “co.jp,” making it the mostregistered category in Organizational Type JP domain names; many companies areusing “co.jp” domain names.
JPRS celebrated its 20th anniversary on December 26, 2020. We profoundly thank ourcustomers, the Internet community, JP Registrars and all those who have supported us.
JPRS is committed to its ongoing effort to improve JP domain name services, develop
systems and carry out promotional activities to facilitate the use of JP domain names
and deliver greater value to users.
The domain name industry saw the number of domain names across TLDs increase in
2020. On the other hand, various challenges continue to threaten the Internet
infrastructure, including domain hijacking and detection of vulnerabilities in DNS
software. As a company supporting the basis of the Internet society through domainnames and DNS, JPRS tackles the risks and challenges and provides information in atimely manner. JPRS also actively contributes to discussions on global issues andconveys relevant information to the community in Japan in order to make the Internet
safe for everyone to use.
The management and administration of JP domain names require a high level ofcommitment to enhancing the public interest and getting ahead in the competition.
Recognizing this vital nature of its services and influence on society, JPRS carries out
its tasks and publishes the annual “JP Domain Name Registry Report” on its
management and administration of JP domain names.
JPRS will continue to ensure that JP domain names remain useful and contribute to
the development of the Internet society.

Koki Higashida
President
Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.

Registry Report
Index
01 Registry Activities
01・1 Goal of JPRS as the JP Domain Name Registry02

01・2 Major Topics of 202003

01・3 International Relations09

01・4 Activities in Japan18

01・5 Overview of this Term’s Activities and Challenges for the Future

22

02 Statistical Information
02・1 Change in the Number of Registered JP Domain Names

24

02・2 Breakdown of JP Domain Name Registrations by Name Space25

02・3 Number of JP Domain Name Registrations by Prefecture26

02・4 Transition of DNS Configuration Rate

27

02・5 Number of Accredited JP Registrars

28

02・6 Number of Complaints Based on JP Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy (JP-DRP)

29

03 Reference
03・1 History30

03・2 JP Domain Name Advisory Committee

31

03・3 Proposals and Presentations

33

03・4 Press Releases

34

03・5 Provision of Technical Information Related to DNS

35Registry Report01

01 Registry Activities

01・1

Goal of JPRS as the JP Domain Name Registry

Our main objectives as the registry are: to continuously improve the value of JP domain names; to gain stronger

support from the local and global Internet community; and to provide domain names as well as management andadministration services that contribute to society in an environment where JPRS competes and collaborates withother registries of TLDs*1 and similar service providers.

JPRS defines the following as the core concepts for its services including the management and administration of
JP domain names.

Reliability: establishing services with social credibility
Stability: operating and administering stable systems
Usability: providing user-friendly services

Fee Performance: setting reasonable service fees
With the mission of supporting the Internet infrastructure, JPRS considers it important to ensure reliability andstability while pursuing a good balance with usability and fee performance.

*1 TLD: Top Level Domain
02 Registry Report

01・2

Major Topics of 2020

In 2020, JPRS continued to contribute to the development of the Internet and worked to enhance its JP registry
services and the value of JP domain names in cooperation with the JP Registrars and other relatedorganizations.

Publication of “Internet White Paper 2020” with JPRS Participating in Planningand Editing (February)“Internet White Paper” is a yearbook that summarizes the current state of the Internet

from various perspectives including that of business, society and technology. Its 2020
edition, “Internet White Paper 2020 (subtitle: The World beyond 5G),” was published.
JPRS has been collaborating with Impress R&D*1, IAjapan*2 and JPNIC*3 in the Internet
White Paper Editorial Committee in the planning and steering the White Paper since
2013.

https://jprs.co.jp/topics/2020/200207.html (in Japanese)
Internet White Paper 2020

Addition of “Internet White Paper 2019” to “Internet White Paper ARCHIVES” (February)“Internet White Paper 2019” published in 2019 was added to “Internet White Paper ARCHIVES,” the websiteorganized and operated by the Internet White Paper Editorial Committee.

“Internet White Paper ARCHIVES” is a compendium of Internet White Papers, which are published annually andspan from 1996 to the previous year's edition. The archive is publicly available free of charge. Going forward, thewhite paper that becomes a back issue in the year following its publication will also be added to the archive.
https://jprs.co.jp/topics/2020/200214.html (In Japanese)

Review of the Cryptographic Algorithms That Can Be Specified in DNSSEC (February)
As part of its efforts to increase the reliability of its entire service, JPRS reexamined the cryptographic algorithms
that could be specified in DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions), an expanded security capability for DNS. JPRS
conducted the review in response to RFC 8624* 4 issued by IETF* 5 . RFC 8624 newly specifies thealgorithms/digest algorithms that are not recommended for DS records in order to maintain the safety of
DNSSEC over the long term.

https://jprs.jp/whatsnew/topics/2020/200207.html (In Japanese)*1 Impress R&D
https://www.impressrd.jp/ (in Japanese)*2 IAjapan: Internet Association Japan
https://www.iajapan.org/index-en.html*3 JPNIC: Japan Network Information Center
https://www.nic.ad.jp/en/*4 RFC 8624
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8624*5 IETF: Internet Engineering Task Forcehttps://www.ietf.org/
Registry Report03

01 Registry Activities

Support for the 22nd Japan Junior/Senior High School Web Contest (February)
JPRS supported the “22nd Japan Junior/Senior High School Web Contest*6,” a Web contest that was held by
JAPIAS*7 for junior and senior high school students. JPRS provided 136 General-use JP domain names (both inJapanese and ASCII) free of charge for the works of 68 teams so that they could have original domain names.

JPRS also presented the “Best Domain Naming Award” to the team who had chosen the most effective domainname to increase the appeal of their work.

https://jprs.co.jp/press/2020/200217.html (In Japanese)

Support for SECCON 2020 (from May)SECCON 2020*8 was a series of events held from May to December 2020 with the aim of recruiting and training

information security personnel and providing a place for hands-on experience with related technologies. JPRS
supported SECCON 2020 as a sponsor.

For “SECCON CTF 2020” organized online in October 2020, Shotaro Koshoji of JPRS designed, built andoperated the network for competitions as a member of the Working Group (WG) for Infrastructure & NOC.
https://jprs.co.jp/topics/2020/201006.html (In Japanese)

Free Cartoon Booklet on the Internet System Sent to Junior and Senior High Schools
and Technical Colleges across Japan (June)
As part of its Internet-related educational activities, JPRS set up channels including a
special website “https://マンガで学ぶ.jp/” (Learn from Manga) where junior and seniorhigh school and technical colleges could apply to receive educational materials from

June 15 to August 31, 2020. Recognizing the growing importance of Internet-related

education and the shortage of teaching materials in schools, JPRS has worked on thisproject since 2010. The number of copies distributed in the last ten years exceeds
300,000.

The material that JPRS distributed is a graphical comic-style booklet entitled “Ponta’s
Great Adventure in the Network.” It contains a story with many illustrations to help

readers learn how to reach particular websites and how a “Domain Name,” which is an

Internet address, works. In addition, it describes HTTPS, a scheme for ensuring secure
telecommunications, in a simple manner.

https://jprs.co.jp/press/2020/200615.html (In Japanese)*6 Japan Junior/Senior High School Web Contest (formerly Think Quest JAPAN)
http://webcon.japias.jp/ (in Japanese)*7 JAPIAS: Japan Association for Promotion of Internet Application in School Education
http://japias.jp/ (in Japanese)*8 SECCON 2020
https://www.seccon.jp/2020/ (in Japanese)
04 Registry Report

Ponta s Great Adventurein the Network

Support for “Oshigoto Hakubutsukan,” a Career Education Support Programby Asahi Shimbun (June)
Recognizing the importance of career education for the children who will lead the next

generation and the benefits of understanding the Internet infrastructure at an early age,
JPRS co-sponsored “Oshigoto Hakubutsukan*9 (Occupations Museum),” a career

education support program conducted by Asahi Shimbun Company. JPRS also

provided the program with educational materials regarding domain names.
Under the program, “Oshigoto Nenkan ( Occupations Yearbook ) ” is distributed toschools free of charge, and clearly explains to students how businesses and institutions

work. The yearbook complies with government guidelines on education and can beused as a teaching tool. A total of 70,000 copies of the 2020 yearbook were donated toabout 20,000 elementary schools and 10,000 junior high schools across the country,

Oshigoto Nenkan 2020

and the contents are also published on the web version of “Oshigoto Hakubutsukan.”
https://jprs.co.jp/topics/2020/200629.html (in Japanese)

Agreement to Establish a New Partnership to Deploy M-Root DNS Server Anycast
Instances (August)In August 2020, JPRS, the WIDE Project*10 and APNIC*11 agreed and signed a Memorandum of Understanding
to build a new cooperative relationship to expand M-Root DNS services in the Asia Pacific and beyond.

JPRS, jointly with the WIDE Project, has operated and deployed M-Root DNS server instances since 2005.

Acting as part of the Root Server Operator, JPRS provides a better user experience of both Root DNS and JP
DNS to the Internet community.

By working together, the WIDE Project, JPRS and APNIC will greatly expand M-Root’s footprint throughout theregion to improve DNS reachability, resilience and response time for Asia Pacific ISPs and end users, which will
elevate the overall performance of the DNS.

In December 2020, M-Root DNS server anycast instance launched in Brisbane, Australia and started its
operation based on the cooperative relationship.

https://jprs.co.jp/en/press/2020/200831.html
https://jprs.co.jp/en/press/2020/201218.html*9 Oshigoto Hakubutsukan
https://www.oshihaku.jp/ (in Japanese)*10 WIDE Project
https://www.wide.ad.jp/index_e.html*11 APNIC: Asia Pacific Network Information Centre
https://www.apnic.net/
Registry Report05

01 Registry Activities

JPRS Held 11th “.jp DNSSEC Key Ceremony” (October)In public-key cryptography, a key ceremony is a procedure in which a unique pair of private and public keys is

generated. In JPRS, “.jp DNSSEC Key Ceremony” is a procedure for creating key- and zone-signing keys andsigning the jp zone.

It is vital for the reliability and stability of DNSSEC that the procedure for generating and managing the key pairs

is properly and securely executed. For this reason, JPRS invites External Witnesses, who are not affiliated with
JPRS, to the .jp DNSSEC Key Ceremony.

In the 11th ceremony held on October 6, 2020, two External Witnesses observed and confirmed the process.

Due to COVID-19, this particular ceremony was observed via live streaming rather than the usual on-siteexamination.

https://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/2020/201007.html

Distribution of a Free Poster to Educational Institutions across Japan to Help
Students Enjoy Learning about ccTLDs (November)
As part of its efforts to support education regarding the Internet, JPRS

produced a poster listing the ccTLDs *12 all around the world and distributed

copies for charge-free to junior and senior high schools as well as technicalcolleges across Japan.

Students use ccTLDs on a daily basis without realizing it. So, JPRS produced
the poster to help them learn and understand the ccTLDs in a fun way. It

presents the two-letter ccTLDs, the names of the countries and territories toPoster: ccTLDs of the World

which respective ccTLDs are allocated, and an interesting story about each ofthem.

In 2020, JPRS launched a dedicated website that visualized on the globe which ccTLD was allocated to whichpart of the world in order to help viewers gain a deeper understanding about ccTLDs.
https://jprs.co.jp/press/2020/201105.html (in Japanese)
https://sekai-domain.jp/ (in Japanese)

Service Change Related to Definition of Organizational Type and Eligibility for
ED.JP Domain Name (November)
On November 12, 2020, JPRS changed its service so that a national and public university corporation having multiple
organizations eligible for an ED.JP domain name such as elementary schools and junior high schools under its
umbrella could register an ED.JP domain name.

https://jprs.jp/whatsnew/notice/2020/201112.html (in Japanese)*12 ccTLD: Country Code Top Level Domain
06 Registry ReportSupport for Internet Week 2020 (November)
JPRS supported Internet Week 2020 as a sponsor and sent Kazunori

Fujiwara and Naoto Shimada to serve on the Program Committee. They

contributed to the planning of DNS-related sessions and video streaming ofInternet Week 2020. Shimada also served as a member of the Distribution
Team.

In addition, Kazuki Ikeda, Yuri Takamatsu and Kazunori Fujiwara of JPRS

introduced domain names, DNS and other related topics in the program

Lunch Time Webinar at Internet Week 2020

called “DNS DAY.” At the session entitled “Supporting First-Ever Online

IW2020 – Behind the Scenes of Video Streaming –,” Naoto Shimada of JPRS talked about “Streaming
Environment of Internet Week 2020.”

At the Lunch Time Webinar, Yasuhiro Morishita and Shotaro Koshoji of JPRS gave a presentation entitled “DNS
Administration in the Era of Managed Service – Featuring DNS Takeover – Lunch with DNS.” They illustrated
potential sticking points in the administration of DNS and highlighted recent cases of troubles and security
incidents.

https://jprs.co.jp/topics/2020/201019.html (In Japanese)

Introduction of JP Registrar Transfer Lock and Domain Name Transfer Lock (December)
As part of its efforts to improve the reliability of JP Domain Name services, JPRS introduced the JP Registrar
Transfer Lock and Domain Name Transfer Lock functions to prevent unintended changes of JP Registrars and
JP domain name registrants.

By activating the lock function for a JP domain name, the registrant can have the registry reject any application

for domain name transfer and JP Registrar transfer for a General-use JP domain name as well as JP Registrartransfer for an Organizational/Geographic Type JP domain name.

Users of this service need to deactivate the lock in order to transfer their domain name or change their registrar,
thus preventing unintended JP Registrar transfer and JP domain name transfer by a malicious third party.
https://jprs.jp/about/dom-rule/transfer-lock/ (in Japanese)

JPRS’s 20th Anniversary and Change of Corporate Logo (December)
JPRS celebrated its 20th anniversary on December 26, 2020. In the run-up to theanniversary, it changed its corporate logo on December 7, 2020. The new logo
expresses JPRS’s commitment to supporting the infrastructure of the Internet
more strongly.

Furthermore, in 2021, JPRS launched the 20th anniversary website “History of

20 Years.” The website illustrates the challenges JPRS has taken on and the

The new corporate logo

contributions it has made to the evolution of the Internet since its foundation.
https://jprs.co.jp/en/press/2021/210226.html
https://jprs.co.jp/20th/en/

Registry Report07

01 Registry Activities

Events and Seminars for JP Registrars
Considering the spread of COVID-19, all events and seminars held by JPRS for JP Registrars in 2020
were via remote participation only.

“JP Registrar Seminar – An Introduction to Domain Name Registration and Administration –”(September)
JPRS explained the basics of domain names, how to register and administer them, as well as thefundamental structure of DNS to newly accredited JP Registrars and the staff of JP Registrars who recently
started handling JP domain names.

“JPRS Partners’ Meeting” (October)
JPRS described the latest developments in the domain name industry, plans for the JP Domain Name
including future service changes as well as information useful for day-to-day operations to those staff
members who were handling domain names in JP Registrars.

“JPRS Technical Seminar” (November)
JPRS talked to engineers involved in the operation of domain names and DNS about the latest hot topics
related to DNS, security incidents, and preventive measures and operational responses.

08 Registry Report

01・3

International Relations

1. Participation in ICANNICANN*1 is a private non-profit organization established in the
United States in 1998 to coordinate globally the resources

underpinning the Internet, such as domain names and IP
addresses.

Since its foundation, JPRS has been actively participating in theorganization of ICANN and various policy discussions andsupporting the facilitation of Internet resource management led

ICANN67by the private sector, with ICANN playing the central role. In

2002, JPRS signed a “ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement” with ICANN and has since been entrusted by ICANN toserve as the registry of Japan’s ccTLD “.jp.”

By participating in various organizations established within ICANN, as well as by giving presentations andinformation exchanges at various sessions, JPRS participates in policy development and implementation

planning to cope with issues facing ICANN and registries. As the .JP registry and one of the operators of the
M-Root DNS server, JPRS is sharing its experience with the global community via ICANN, thereby contributing
to the development of the Internet as a whole.

ICANN holds three public meetings each year to enable stakeholders from every country and region of the world toparticipate and discuss Internet resource management and related rules. For 2020, ICANN had planned to organize

a meeting in Cancun, Mexico in March, another in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June, and another in Hamburg,
Germany in October. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, it ended up holding all three meetings online.

With the participation of numerous parties interested in ccTLD and gTLD*2, ICANN has always functioned as

an important forum for information-sharing and discussion on issues on policies and governance concerning
domain name management. The ICANN Supporting Organizations (SOs) and the Advisory Committees (ACs)continued active discussions between different SOs/ACs to promote a better understanding of each other in

2020. ICANN is serving as an important forum for SOs/ACs to exchange opinions on different topics ofinterest, including Internet resources. Especially in 2020, the participants discussed wide-ranging topics

including common rules for gTLDs, shared understanding of the concept of “DNS Abuse” among SOs/ACs,

education about the historical background, and the current state of the domain name business. They also
talked about how future ICANN public meetings should be held, considering the need to change the meeting
format because of the spread of COVID-19. In addition, ICANN and the community started to discuss thegovernance model for ensuring stable Root DNS service that underpin all domain names worldwide.

The following reports JPRS’s activities in the Supporting Organizations and the Advisory Committees within
ICANN.

*1 ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
https://www.icann.org/*2 gTLD: Generic Top Level Domain
Registry Report09

01 Registry Activities(1) ccNSO
ccNSO*3 is one of the Supporting Organizations set up in ICANN to assist its activities. The role of ccNSO as analliance of ccTLD managers is to cooperate with the other Supporting Organizations in ICANN, form a consensus in
the ccTLD community on global issues concerning the entire ccTLD space and to make recommendations to the
ICANN Board. JPRS prepared for the establishment of the ccNSO in 2003 and has been a member since then.

Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS served as a member of the ccNSO Council from its establishment to March 2020. Also,
Atsushi Endo of JPRS is a member of the SOPC (ccNSO Strategic and Operational Planning Standing Committee)*4
which submits a petition regarding ICANN’s “Five-Year Operating and Financial Plan” and “Annual Operating Plan andBudget,” and Yuri Takamatsu is taking part in the MPC (ccNSO Meetings Programme Standing Committee)*5 whichmakes plans for ccNSO-related meetings as well as ccPDP4*6 which develops policy proposals for IDN*7 ccTLDs.

The ccNSO cancelled its member meeting in ICANN67 because the entire ICANN meeting had been moved online

hastily due to COVID-19. After ICANN67, ICANN changed the format of its public meetings from face-to-face toonline. Accordingly, ccNSO altered the structure of its own sessions to be held during ICANN meetings andorganized the member meetings based on the new arrangement. Taking into consideration the burden of the ccTLD

registries participating from different time zones, the ccNSO organized sessions that were more focused on theissues to be addressed by the whole ccTLD community during ICANN meetings, and information-sharing sessions

specific to ccTLD registries were set up outside of the term of the ICANN meetings. Prior to ICANN67, ICANN held
the meetings physically, and the sessions of the ccNSO WGs were organized as an open session during an ICANN

meeting to allow the participants to gather and discuss matters face-to-face. In 2020, however, the ccNSO decided
not to arrange their sessions that way, as the ICANN meetings shifted to online.

In 2020, the ccNSO organized a Q&A session where ccNSO-appointed ICANN Board members answeredquestions from the members, a meeting to talk about governance models of ccTLD managers and a forum to shareknowledge and ideas about the efforts and challenges of ccTLDs amid COVID-19. At ICANN68 held in June 2020,
Atsushi Endo of JPRS represented the ccTLD manager run by a for profit company in the panel to discuss various

governance models of ccTLD registries, which were operated by an academic institution, company, government or
non-profit organization. The attendees of the session appreciated that they could gain a better understanding of thedifferent characteristics of different governance models. At ICANN69 held in October 2020, Yuri Takamatsu of JPRS
worked together with Ms. Irina Danelia (.ru), the moderator, to conduct a session to discuss the efforts of each

ccTLD in response to COVID-19.

At the Annual General Meeting held during ICANN69, Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS received recognition from ICANN for
his many years of contribution to the ccNSO*8.

*3 ccNSO: Country Code Names Supporting Organisation
https://ccnso.icann.org/*4 SOPChttps://ccnso.icann.org/en/workinggroups/sopiwg.htm*5 MPC
https://ccnso.icann.org/en/workinggroups/mpwg.htm*6 ccPDP4
https://ccnso.icann.org/en/workinggroups/idn-cctld-strings.htm*7 IDN: Internationalized Domain Name
*8 https://jprs.co.jp/en/press/2020/201026.html
10 Registry Report(2) Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone
Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone ( LGR ) aim to establish rules for adding labels that include

non-ASCII scripts to the root zone. Each language community leads the development of its respective LGR.
The following two types of panels are working on developing the LGRs for the DNS root zone:

1. Generation Panel (GP)Each GP is composed of key figures of each language community and experts in linguistics and domain names.
Each GP creates a proposed LGR for a given script and is organized for each script to be added in the root zone.

2. Integration Panel (IP)
IP is a panel of experts in character encoding or IDNs and is tasked with integrating rules developed by the GPs
into a consistent set of LGRs.

The IP was established in 2014, and several GPs for different scripts were formed in 2015. The otherlanguage communities are also making progress.

The cultural community that uses Han (Kanji) script includes the Chinese, Korean and Japanese communities,
so it is necessary to develop the LGRs that are consistent across those language communities. Therefore, theJapanese community has been working on its LGR in consideration of such necessity. The study is being
conducted in the Japanese Generation Panel ( JGP ) involving IDN experts representing the Japanese

language community, linguists and registry experts, with JPNIC and JPRS serving as the secretariat. Hirofumi
Hotta of JPRS is leading the initiative as the chair, and Yoshiro Yoneya along with Yuri Takamatsu aremembers of the JGP. They are contributing their expertise gained through designing, providing and operating
the Japanese JP Domain Name services.

After mutual coordination among the Japanese, Chinese and Korean GPs, they respectively proposed the

LGRs for their own scripts to ICANN and moved onto separate discussions with the IP. The Chinese GP has
already completed the discussion, while the Korean and Japanese GPs are presently making final
adjustments.

In 2020, the JGP submitted to ICANN and relevant parties the “Proposal for a Japanese Script Root Zone
LGR” incorporating the results of field research conducted jointly by ICANN and the JGP to examine therecognition of visually identical characters. The JGP also summarized the proposal for the Japanesecommunity at the ICANN Readout Session in December 2020 and checked whether there were any

comments. It is currently continuing the work of finalizing the proposal and expects to complete the LGR for
the Japanese community in 2021.

Registry Report11

01 Registry Activities(3) RSSAC
The RSSAC*9 is one of the Advisory Committees within ICANN that advises the ICANN community and the Boardon matters relating to operation, administration, security, and integrity of the Root DNS Server (Root Server)
System. As one of the operators of the M-Root DNS server, JPRS has been participating in the activities of the
RSSAC in collaboration with the WIDE Project, the other operator.

In 2020, the RSSAC held a discussion at the ICANN meetings as well as their regular conference calls. As a result,it made a decision to newly start taking part in ICANN’s decision-making process. It also continued to work on
improving the transparency of activities related to the RSSAC and Root Server Operators.

Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS has been playing an active role in these discussions representing both of the two M-Root

DNS server operators. Moreover, Yoshitaka Aharen, Shinta Sato, Kazunori Fujiwara and Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS
are on the RSSAC Caucus tasked with considering and drafting proposals to the ICANN Board and the community.
They completed the work in the Resolver Study Work Party, which researched the behavior of resolvers, and also in

the RSS Metrics Work Party, which defined measurements to assess the performance of the root servers.
Presently, they are taking part in the Local Perspective Tools Work Party tasked with defining a set ofmeasurements to determine the level of service provided by the Root Server System at a location, and the Rogue
RSO Work Party charged with defining different types of rogue operations of Root Server Operators.

(4) Participation in the Discussion to Propose a New Governance Model for the
Root Server System
The Root Server System consists of 13 sets of root DNS servers called A-M and is comprised of over 1,300 instances.
These root DNS servers are operated stably by 12 Root Server Operators working together on a voluntary basis.

As the importance of the Internet continues to grow, there are increasing calls for improved stability and assured
reliability for the operation of the Root Server System. Against this backdrop, the Root Server Operators took the

initiative in the RSSAC, one of ICANN’s Advisory Committees, to propose a more robust governance model that
could underpin the foundation of the Internet into the future.

The results of the discussion were submitted to the ICANN Board as document RSSAC037 in June 2018,

whereupon the direction for deliberation based on RSSAC037 was approved by the ICANN Board. Subsequently,
the ICANN Root Server Governance Working Group (GWG) was established in January 2020 to develop a
concrete governance model according to the direction for deliberation.

The GWG comprises ten representatives: two from ccNSO, two from ICANN Registries Stakeholder Group, two from
IAB/IETF, three from Root Server Operators and one from the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee. The

GWG also comprises three liaisons: one from IANA, one from the ICANN Board and one from Root Zone Maintainer.
Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS is participating in the GWG as one of the three representatives for the Root Server Operators.
The work of the GWG will continue and is expected to produce an outcome by the beginning of 2022.
*9 RSSAC: Root Server System Advisory Committee
https://www.icann.org/groups/rssac
12 Registry Report2. Participation in IETF
IETF was established in 1986 by IAB*1 to promote standardization ofInternet technologies. There are a number of WGs in IETF that aredeveloping standards in various technology areas. Discussion andother activities of IETF are handled via its mailing lists. IETF also

holds meetings three times per year, and engineers gather from every
region across the world to attend these meetings.

IETF 108

All the IETF meetings scheduled for 2020 had to be held online due to
COVID-19. IETF 107 was organized in March, IETF 108 in July and
IETF 109 in November.

JPRS is participating in the standardization activities in IETF by suggesting solutions to the issues related to
DNS operations and proposing standardization of the technologies employed by registries. The following
reports on JPRS’s activities in IETF.

(1) dnsop WG
The name of the dnsop WG*2 derives from DNS Operations. The working group aims to compile a guideline

for DNS operation in general, including administration of DNS servers and registration data.

JPRS has actively participated in the dnsop WG with its expertise as the JP DNS operator to point out the
ambiguity in the DNS protocol, present the issues caused by misconfigurations of DNS servers and discuss

the operational method of DNSSEC. Besides that, JPRS engineers co-authored RFC 4074, RFC 7719, RFC
8198 and RFC 8499, and these RFCs were issued thus far.

In 2020, the dnsop WG continued to discuss “draft-fujiwara-dnsop-avoid-fragmentation,” a proposal to prevent

IP fragmentation in DNS that had been submitted by Kazunori Fujiwara of JPRS in 2019. The proposal
became a draft for standardization in the dnsop WG, and then “draft-ietf-dnsop-avoid-fragmentation-00” wasposted in June. The draft was revised in July, September and November, reflecting the comments received.

Fujiwara also posted in November “draft-fujiwara-dnsop-delegation-information-signer-00,” a new proposal tosign NS and glue records that are delegation information, and presented it at the dnsop WG session in IETF

109. Then Paul Hoffman of ICANN and Kazunori Fujiwara of JPRS started co-authoring the revised version of
RFC 8499, resulting in “draft-ietf-dnsop-rfc8499bis” being posted in November.

*1 IAB: Internet Architecture Board
https://www.iab.org/*2 dnsop WG: Domain Name System Operations Working Grouphttps://datatracker.ietf.org/wg/dnsop/documents/
Registry Report13

01 Registry Activities

3. Participation in Registry Associations(1) APTLDAPTLD*1 is an association composed of ccTLD registries mainly in the Asia Pacific (AP) region. JPRS has

been a member of APTLD since 2002. As the .JP registry, JPRS proposes improvements of APTLD activities,
provides information and exchanges views at presentations and discussions so that the ccTLD community in
the AP region can gain experience and expertise and raise the level of service standards.

In the APTLD meetings held twice a year, the groups and the organizations related to the region introduced

their activities and the participants explained what they were implementing and considering, such as theservice of each ccTLD registry and efforts to improve the security of domain names, which led to active
discussions.

At the APTLD meeting held in Melbourne, Australia in February, JPRS outlined the .jp DNSSEC Key
Ceremony and Backup TCRs (Trusted Community Representatives) in ICANN. Also, Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS
talked about the Root Server System Governance Working Group (GWG) of which he was a member. In the

APTLD online meeting in September, Yuri Takamatsu of JPRS shared the recent work items of the company atthe session where the members gave updates on their projects and the latest developments. In addition,
Hirofumi Hotta attended as a panelist in the panel discussion to share the challenges that ccTLD registries
were facing and to discuss various governance models of ccTLDs. He explained that JPRS carried out

measures focusing on providing services to many different registrants and end users residing in diverse placeseven in times of a natural disaster or pandemic.

In addition, Yuri Takamatsu of JPRS contributed to the evaluation of the APTLD Secretariat’s performance as amember of the Secretariat Performance Review Working Group.

(2) CENTR
CENTR*2 is an association consisting of ccTLD registries mainly in Europe. As an Associate member, JPRS
shares information and exchanges opinions with other CENTR members. In addition, CENTR conducts
surveys and information-sharing among members, so JPRS is actively taking part in these activities toconsider its future services in the light of what it learns in CENTR.

*1 APTLD: Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association
https://www.aptld.org/*2 CENTR: Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries
https://www.centr.org/
14 Registry Report

4. Other International Activities(1) Participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
IGF*1 is an international conference organized under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) and has been held

annually since 2006. The IGF for 2020 had originally been scheduled to take place in Katowice, Poland in November,but had to be held entirely online. Hirofumi Hotta and Yuri Takamatsu of JPRS participated in the IGF 2020.

The IGF 2020 was organized on the main theme of “Internet for human resilience and solidarity,” offering fourmain thematic tracks – “data,” “environment,” “inclusion” and “trust.” It convened various sessions centering
around “Digital Cooperation,” the subject featured prominently according to the “Roadmap for Digital
Cooperation” that UN Secretary-General António Guterres had released in June 2020.

The spread of COVID-19 forced many different activities related to livelihoods and the economy to go online,
highlighting the importance of the Internet; this became the center of talks throughout the IGF 2020. Goingforward, JPRS will make good use of the information gained from the discussion in the IGF 2020 and will
stimulate related discussions in Japan.

(2) Participation in the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF)
APrIGF*2 has been held annually since 2010, with the participation of mainly the members of the community in

the Asia Pacific. It has been a forum for discussing issues related to Internet governance in not only the APregion but also the entire world. Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS is on the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Group (MSG)
that considers the policy direction of the APrIGF.

APrIGF2020 had been due to take place in Nepal but ended up being held online in September. Yuri

Takamatsu of JPRS participated in the forum. Several sessions related to COVID-19 were organized, andmany participants emphasized in their comments the importance of the Internet and universal access to it.

*1 IGF: Internet Governance Forumhttps://www.intgovforum.org/*2 APrIGF: Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forumhttps://www.rigf.asia/
Registry Report15

01 Registry Activities(3) Participation in the DotAsia Organisation
The DotAsia Organisation*3 is the sponsoring organization and registry for the “.asia” top level domain. It is a

not-for-profit organization incorporated in Hong Kong and contributes its proceeds of the .asia registration
services toward promoting the Internet in the Asia Pacific region by carrying out various community projects.

Internet advancement initiatives of the DotAsia Organisation include the APrIGF Secretariat and the Universal
Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) Secretariat alongside “NetMission Ambassadors Program” and “Youth

IGF,” which are capacity-building programs for young people who are expected to play a role in the evolutionof the Internet.

JPRS has participated in the DotAsia Organisation as a Sponsor Member since its foundation, and Atsushi
Endo of JPRS played a role in organizing and operating it as one of the Board Directors until June 2020.

(4) Participation in AP* Retreat
AP* ( APstar*4 ) Retreat is a meeting that is held twice a year in principle and gathers the Internet-related

associations in the Asia Pacific region as well as the participants representing the organizations playing key roles in
the Internet in each country and region. At the AP* Retreat meetings the participants share the activities andconcerns of each participating organization and discuss how the Asia Pacific community as a whole should address
the issues related to the Internet.

In 2020, AP* Retreat was held in Melbourne, Australia in February and then organized online in September.

Hirofumi Hotta and Kazuhiro Kitamura of JPRS took part in the meeting in February, while Hotta and Atsushi Endoparticipated in September. In the February retreat, Hotta shared the activities of APTLD as its former Board Director.

(5) Participation in Root DNS Server Operation
JPRS and the WIDE Project collaboratively operate the M-Root DNS server, one of the root DNS servers, forthe purpose of ensuring the reliability and stability of DNS operations.

The 12 root DNS server operator organizations from around the world meet on the first day of IETF meetings,
which are held three times a year, and JPRS has been participating in these meetings as one of theorganizations in charge of M-Root DNS server operations. At these meetings, attendees share information
principally on the stability of server operations and topics related to the latest technology.

Making good use of its experience as the .JP registry, JPRS has been contributing to the global Internet
community while also building on the JP Domain Name services with the knowledge it has gained in theoperation of the root DNS server.

*3 DotAsia Organisation
https://www.dot.asia/*4 APstar: The Community of Asia Pacific Internet Organizations
http://www.apstar.org/
16 Registry Report(6) Participation in DNS-OARC
DNS-OARC*5 is an international organization established in 2004 for the purpose of improving the stability andquality of DNS through various activities related to operation, analysis and study of DNS, the system widelyused on the Internet. DNS-OARC conducts the annual DITL*6, which involves collecting and evaluating server
packets of DNS including the root servers once a year for 50 hours.

In 2020, DNS-OARC held a workshop in San Francisco, the United States in February and then an online-only
workshop in August due to COVID-19.

(7) Participation in W3C
W3C*7 is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 to develop a series of technical standards for the World

Wide Web. JPRS participates in W3C and plays an active role in enhancing Web security andinternationalization of identifiers. Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS served as a co-chair until 2020 in the HTTPS in
Local Network Community Group*8 that had been established in 2017.

(8) Activities in Academic Societies
JPRS continues to participate in academic societies through its study and research in DNS and other relatedareas of study. Takeshi Mitamura of JPRS serves as an expert member of the Special Interest Group on

Business Informatics within the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence, and Kazunori Fujiwara of JPRS sitson the Technical Committee on Internet Architecture of EIC Communication Society as an expert member.

In 2020, “Cardinality Analysis to Classify Malicious Domain Names,” a paper co-authored by Kazunori

Fujiwara of JPRS, Akira Sato and Kenichi Yoshida of the University of Tsukuba, was adopted for COMPSAC
2020*9 that took place in July. The paper classifies Malicious Domain Names by using the data collected by
the University of Tsukuba and analyzing the communication destinations of users.

Moreover, Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS presented his paper entitled “Proposal for scoring and indicating malicious

use of domain names by using domain name related information” at the 13th Internet and Operation
Technology Symposium (IOTS 2020)*10 of the Information Processing Society of Japan that was held online in
December 2020.

*5 DNS-OARC: The DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center
https://www.dns-oarc.net/*6 DITL: Day In The Life of the Internet
https://www.dns-oarc.net/oarc/data/ditl*7 W3C: World Wide Web Consortium
https://www.w3.org/*8 HTTPS in Local Network Community Grouphttps://www.w3.org/community/httpslocal/*9 COMPSAC 2020
https://ieeecompsac.computer.org/2020/*10 The 13th Internet and Operation Technology Symposium (IOTS 2020), Information Processing Society of Japan
https://www.iot.ipsj.or.jp/symposium/iots2020/ (in Japanese)
Registry Report17

01 Registry Activities

01・4

Activities in Japan(1) Participation in JANOG
JANOG*1 is the organization established to promote the smooth operationof networks through discussions and information-sharing among network
operators to contribute to Internet users and engineers. The members

discuss various issues on the mailing list and gather at JANOG Meetings
held twice a year. JANOG also convenes Interim Meetings as necessary
between regular JANOG meetings.

In 2020, JANOG45 Meeting was held in Sapporo City, Hokkaido in

JANOG45 Meeting

January. JANOG46 Meeting, which had been due to take place in Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture in July, waspushed back to August and was held mainly online due to the spread of COVID-19.

JPRS continues to participate in the discussion on the mailing list as well as in the meetings, and supports the
JANOG Meetings as one of the sponsors. It also runs an exhibition booth at the meeting venue to distributetechnical information materials about domain names, DNS and server certificates.

(2) Participation in DNSOPS.JPDNS Operators Group, Japan (DNSOPS.JP)*2 was established in 2006 with the intention of contributing to thestable operation of the Internet through the administration of DNS. Yasuhiro Morishita of JPRS participated in theestablishment as one of the founding members. DNSOPS.JP serves as a forum for DNS operators where they can
exchange and share information and discuss related issues.

DNSOPS.JP holds a BoF (Birds of a Feather) annually for technical presentations and discussions. It has alsoorganized “DNS Summer Day,” in which participants share their efforts related to DNS and give lightning talks,
every summer since 2012.

At DNS Summer Day 2020 held in June 2020, Yoshitaka Aharen of JPRS gave a presentation entitled “Overview of
NXNSAttack” and outlined the new scheme of DoS attack against DNS and the countermeasures that had been

published by researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel in May 2020. Yasuhiro Morishita of JPRS summarized ayear’s worth of JPRS’s technical information services related to DNS vulnerabilities and talked about the publicationof JPRS’s translation of DNS-related RFCs in his presentation entitled “Technical Information Provided by JPRS
(July 2019–June 2020).” In addition, JPRS presented “DNSSEC Key Ceremony in Times of Covid-19” and outlined
the DNSSEC Key Ceremony for the root zone that had been conducted partly remotely in April 2020.

Moreover, at the BoF held in November 2020, Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS and Masayuki Okada of the University ofNagasaki made a presentation entitled “Research Report on Authoritative DNS Services” and shared the outcomesof their research on the confidentiality and availability of different DNS services.

*1 JANOG: JApan Network Operators’ Grouphttps://www.janog.gr.jp/en/html/*2 DNSOPS.JP: DNS Operators Group, Japan
https://dnsops.jp/ (in Japanese)
18 Registry Report(3) Participation in ICANN Readout Sessions“ICANN Readout Session” is the event that has been organized jointly by JPNIC and IAjapan from 2001 to2017 and by JPNIC from April 2017 onward. JPRS has been participating in the ICANN Readout Sessions as
the .JP registry and reporting to the Japanese community about the trend of ccTLDs and other relevant topics.

The ICANN Readout Sessions were held in April, August and December in 2020. In these events, JPRS

reported on the development and issues in the ccNSO and, as a Root Server Operator, gave a status updateon the deliberations of the future governance model for the DNS Root Server System. As a member of theJapanese Generation Panel (JGP), JPRS also talked about the development of the Label Generation Rule

(LGR) for the Japanese community and called for comments on the draft proposal of LGR.

(4) Participation in ISOC-JP
ISOC-JP*3 was established in August 1994 and has made various efforts to promote the Internet in Japan as theJapan Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC*4). Atsushi Endo of JPRS contributed to the activities of ISOC-JP as
one of the officers for two years from 2019 to 2020. In addition, Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS has been taking part in
the Internet Standardization Promotion Committee (ISPC) of ISOC-JP since 2017 and served as the ISPC Vice

Chair in 2019.

ISOC-JP and JPNIC jointly organized two IETF Update Meetings in 2020. At the IETF 106 Update Meeting,Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS gave an overview of IETF 106 from the standpoint of the ISPC. Yoneya also shared thestatus of development in the add (Adaptive DNS Discovery) WG at the IETF 107 Update Meeting.

(5) Participation in ICT-ISAC
ICT-ISAC* 5 was established in 2016 to contribute to the formation of a secure society underpinned byinformation and communication technology ( ICT ) . It has been working together with businesses andorganizations from a wide range of fields related to ICT to keep distribution and communication of information

stable, thereby improving security countermeasures and achieving a higher level of responses. JPRS has
been participating in ICT-ISAC as a member since 2017.

ICT-ISAC undertakes activities through various working groups consisting of its members. JPRS is taking part
mainly in Cyber Attack Defense Exercise-WG (CAE-WG), Rapid Response to DoS Attacks-WG (DoS-WG),

Special Interest Group for DNS Operators (DNS-SiG), Society of Network Abuse Response-WG (SoNAR-WG)
and IoT Security-WG to contribute to enhancing the security related to ICT.

*3 ISOC-JP: The Internet Society Japan Chapter
https://www.isoc.jp/ (in Japanese)*4 ISOC: Internet Society
https://www.internetsociety.org*5 ICT-ISAC: ICT Information Sharing And Analysis Center Japan
https://www.ict-isac.jp/english/index.html
Registry Report19

01 Registry Activities(6) Participation in the Efforts Related to Internet Governance
The IGF has held an annual meeting since 2006 and organized the IGF 2019 in Berlin, Germany. In

Japan, the participants at the IGF 2019 took the lead in planning a local event, which resulted in the IGF

2019 Readout Session co-organized by JAIPA* 6 and JPNIC. The session was originally scheduled forMarch 2020 but was postponed until October due to COVID-19. As such, it was convened as an event for
the IGF 2019/2020. Those gathered at the session shared key issues as well as the outcomes of thedebates in the IGF 2019 from their own viewpoint and then discussed the workshops of IGF 2020 thatwere most interesting for each speaker. Hirofumi Hotta and Yuri Takamatsu of JPRS contributed to plan
the event as core members.

(7) Participation in the Council of Anti-Phishing JapanThe Council of Anti-Phishing Japan*7 is a council tasked mainly with collecting and providing information onphishing and issuing alerts. Atsushi Endo of JPRS took Kazumitsu Shiraiwa’s place as Steering Committee
member in June 2020 and has since been contributing to the operation of the entire council.

The Council has published the “Anti-Phishing Guidelines” for service providers and consumers. It alsoorganizes a working group to discuss refining the guidelines every year, taking into consideration the current

threats. Takaharu Ui of JPRS took part in the working group as a member for the development of the 2020
edition*8 of the guidelines. He also engaged in the awareness campaign and educational activities about

domain name abuse. In addition, Atsushi Endo and Toshihiro Sasaki of JPRS are participating in drawing up
the 2021 edition.

Kazumitsu Shiraiwa of JPRS is a member of the working group tasked mainly with promoting knowledge about

server certificates. Moreover, Shiraiwa and Yoshiro Yoneya of JPRS have been participating in the working
group charged with sharing information about phishing scams and discussing collaboration between
organizations.

*6 JAIPA: Japan Internet Providers Association
https://www.jaipa.or.jp/en/message.php*7 Council of Anti-Phishing Japan
https://www.antiphishing.jp/ (in Japanese)*8 Anti-Phishing Guidelines (released in June 2020, in Japanese)
https://www.antiphishing.jp/report/guideline/antiphishing_guideline2020.html
20 Registry Report(8) Participation in Telecom Services Association
Telecom Services Association*9 was founded for the purpose of promoting the sound evolution of informationand telecommunication businesses in the competitive market, thereby contributing to the development of theindustry as a whole and enhancing the benefits to citizens as well as public welfare.

The Service Ethics Committee within the Telecom Services Association is tasked with addressing ethics andother related issues in network services. It works on improving the Internet use environment by exchanging

opinions and information on the laws and regulations related to network services and the challenges facing
providers. Takaharu Ui of JPRS has been participating in the committee.

(9) Participation in KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation)
The Committee on Digital Economy of KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation)* 10 is the body tasked withdeliberating and making policy proposals about issues such as promoting the use of personal data andmeasures to ensure the free flow of data across national borders. In 2020, Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS participatedin the private-sector meeting of the Japan-U.S. Policy Cooperation Dialogue on the Internet Economy as amember of KEIDANREN. In addition, Hotta and Takaharu Ui of JPRS engaged in wide-ranging discussions in
the Planning Subcommittee of the Committee on the Digital Economy.

*9 Telecom Services Association
https://www.telesa.or.jp/en*10 KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation)
https://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/

Registry Report21

01 Registry Activities

01・5

Overview of this Term’s Activities and Challenges
for the Future

JPRS has constantly worked to strike a proper balance among reliability, stability, usability and fee

performance, which constitute the basis of JP domain name registry services and JP DNS operation, while
also improving each of the four values.

In 2020, JPRS introduced the JP Registrar Transfer Lock and Domain Name Transfer Lock functions toprevent unintended changes of JP Registrars and JP domain name registrants, in an effort to improve thereliability of the JP Domain Name services. It also reexamined the cryptographic algorithms that could bespecified in DNSSEC, an expanded security capability of DNS.

JPRS also tapped into its expertise as the .JP registry to provide information related to domain names and

DNS and promote understanding of industry trends at events and meetings, many of which were held online
using video conferencing services due to the spread of COVID-19.

The year 2020 continued to see a number of challenges threatening the stable operation of the Internet, suchas new DNS attack techniques and serious DNS software vulnerabilities. JPRS has responded to these

problems by collaborating with various organizations on information provision activities such as issuing alerts
and offering educational programs.

As part of its Internet-related educational support activities, JPRS has distributed a free booklet on how theInternet works to educational institutions across Japan for eleven years in a row, with the total number ofcopies distributed exceeding 300,000. It also produced a poster to help students learn about ccTLDs in a fun

way and distributed copies free of charge to educational institutions across Japan like it did in 2019. Moreover,
JPRS continued to provide domain names free of charge at the website creation contest for junior and seniorhigh school students to support children who will lead the next generation.

With the accelerating digital transformation of society, JPRS will continue to improve the security of its system
while reinforcing its equipment and administrative structure. In doing so, JPRS aims to foster an environment
where people can use the Internet more safely. JPRS will also continue to work with other relevantorganizations and the JP Registrars to disseminate information on DNS technology and issue security alerts toaddress vulnerabilities in the entire DNS.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated and expanded the use of the Internet and brought about changes incorporate and social activities. Consequently, public demand for stable communications infrastructure hasrisen significantly. Recognizing the circumstances, JPRS will ensure greater continuity of the service in timesof disaster by ensuring faster recovery and improved reliability through exercises assuming various situations.
As the .JP registry, JPRS will continue its efforts to provide better and stable services.

22 Registry Report

Registry Report23

02 Statistical Information

Change in the Number of Registered
JP Domain Names

02・1

As of January 1, 2021, the number of registered JP domain names reached 1,620,203, an increase of 43,796 in one year.
165(Number of names)
Organizational/Geographic Type150

General-use

135

Prefecture Type

120
105
90
75
60
45
30
15
1993 94

95

96

97

98

99 2000 01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 18 19 20 2021
As of January each year
(Number of names)

Month/Year
1993/1
1994/1
1995/1
1996/1
1997/1
1998/1
1999/1
2000/1
2001/1
2002/1
2003/1
2004/1
2005/1
2006/1
2007/1
2008/1
2009/1
2010/1
2011/1
2012/1
2013/1
2014/1
2015/1
2016/1
2017/1
2018/1
2019/1
2020/12021/1

Organizational/
Geographic Type
953
1,341
2,206
4,781
15,47733,73958,549124,573
234,294
283,340
297,413309,193
327,742
346,340
363,768
378,903389,598
399,339
406,856
413,332
421,606
428,467
435,390446,004
458,947
472,906
486,956
499,366
513,038

General-use(Japanese domain name)183,499 （ 61,507）
205,493 （ 51,544）
245,100 （ 45,402）
317,455 （ 63,324）
439,784 （116,602）
518,557 （124,153）
609,983 （141,858）
674,133 （134,921）
740,820 （133,754）
791,249 （123,711）
845,054 （119,337）
888,657 （122,394）
915,854 （126,182）
940,427 （120,801）
953,041 （113,521）
984,270 （114,130）
1,010,615 （107,363）
1,052,832 （ 99,869）
1,065,561 （ 95,123）
1,095,928 （ 90,494）*Please refer to “Statistics” (https://jprs.co.jp/en/stat/) for the latest information.
24 Registry Report

Prefecture Type
(Japanese domain name)8,452（1,915）
11,781（2,948）
11,684（3,117）
11,202（2,612）
11,419（2,524）
11,956（2,524）
11,569（1,953）
11,480（1,829）
11,237（1,612）

Total
953
1,341
2,206
4,781
15,47733,73958,549124,573
234,294
466,839
502,906
554,293645,197
786,124882,325
988,886
1,063,731
1,140,159
1,198,105
1,258,386
1,318,715
1,356,102
1,387,501
1,410,247
1,454,636
1,495,477
1,551,357
1,576,407
1,620,203

02・2

Breakdown of JP Domain Name Registrations
by Name Space*As of January 1, 2021

Prefecture Type0.7%

CO：86.1％

Organizational/
Geographic Type
31.7%
General-use
67.6%

ED：1.2%
GO：0.1%
GR：1.1%
LG：0.4%
NE：2.5%
OR：7.4%
Geographic Type：0.4%
AC：0.7%
AD：0.1%(Number of names)

JP Domain Name Types

1 Jan 2021 Number 1 Jan 2020 Number
of Registrationsof Registrations

AC: Higher education institution

Difference

3,727

3,655

+72

253

255

ー2

441,688429,226+12,462

5,979

5,406

+573

628

583

+45

5,696

5,863

ー167

1,894

1,891

+3

12,866

13,048

ー182

38,15837,252

+906

2,149

2,187

ー38

General-use(Japanese domain name)1,095,928（90,494）

1,065,561（95,123）+30,367（ー4,629）

Prefecture Type
(Japanese domain name)11,237（1,612）

11,480（1,829）ー243（ー217）

Total JP Domain Name Registration

1,620,203

1,576,407+43,796

AD: JPNIC Member
CO: Company
Organizational/
Geographic Type

ED: Primary school, junior andsenior high school
GO: Japanese government
GR: Group

LG: Japanese local authority
NE: Network service

OR: Corporation other than company
Geographic Type

*Please refer to “Statistics” (https://jprs.co.jp/en/stat/) for the latest information.

Registry Report25

02 Statistical Information

02・3

Number of JP Domain Name Registrations
by Prefecture*As of January 1, 2021

Prefecture
Hokkaido
Aomori
Iwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane
Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa
26 Registry Report

Organizational/ Geographic Type
2.8%
0.5%
0.4%
1.3%
0.4%
0.6%
0.9%
1.4%
1.0%
1.1%
4.4%
3.3%

32.5%
6.6%
1.1%
0.6%
0.7%
0.5%
0.5%
1.3%
1.1%
2.1%
5.4%
0.8%
0.6%
2.0%
9.5%
3.2%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
1.1%
1.6%
0.5%
0.3%
0.5%
0.6%
0.3%
3.2%
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
0.4%
0.4%
0.5%
0.7%

General-use

Prefecture Type
2.0%

2.8%

0.3%

0.5%

0.3%
0.8%
0.3%
0.3%
0.5%
1.0%
0.6%
0.7%
2.7%
2.3%

0.5%
0.9%
0.6%
0.4%
0.5%
0.6%
0.8%
1.7%
2.5%
2.5%

42.7%

37.7%

0.7%

0.8%

4.8%
0.4%
0.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.8%
0.7%
1.5%
3.7%
0.5%
0.5%
2.6%

3.3%
0.5%
0.6%
0.4%
0.4%
1.4%
1.1%
1.3%
2.4%
1.1%
1.0%
6.1%

15.3%

10.1%

0.7%

1.4%

2.3%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
0.7%
1.0%
0.3%
0.2%
0.3%
0.4%
0.2%
2.5%
0.2%
0.4%
0.6%
0.4%
0.3%
0.4%
0.6%

1.8%
0.4%
0.4%
0.3%
0.7%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.5%
0.6%
0.4%
4.2%
0.5%
0.7%
0.9%
0.8%
0.4%
0.7%
1.3%

Transition of DNS Configuration Rate

02・4

*As of January 1, 2021
100

(%)

90
80
70
Organizational/Geographic Type60

General-use

Prefecture Type50

2017/1

2018/1

2019/1

2020/12021/1Month/Year

Organizational/Geographic Type

General-use

Prefecture Type2017/1

99.4%

96.6%

91.4%

2018/1

99.4%

96.8%

91.9%

2019/1

99.4%

96.9%

91.3%

2020/1

99.4%

97.1%

91.8%

2021/1

99.4%

97.2%

91.9%

Registry Report27

02 Statistical Information

02・5

Number of Accredited JP Registrars

Organizational/Geographic Type600

General-use

Prefecture Type

(Number of Registrars)

500
400
300
200
100
0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
/4
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1
/1

2021
/1

(Number of Registrars)

Month/Year

Organizational/
Geographic Type

General-use

Prefecture Type443

2001/4

Cumulative Total
443

490

490

2003/1

560

546

1,106

2004/1

557

559

1,116

2005/1

553

564

1,117

2006/1

562

576

1,138

2007/1

559

572

1,131

2008/1

557

573

1,130

2009/1

558

577

1,135

2010/1

555

577

1,132

2011/1

563

582

1,145

2012/1571

590

2013/1

566

586

197

1,161

2014/1

564

582

227

2015/1

560

577

241

2016/1

560

576

252

2017/1

554

569

252

2018/1

559

574

255

2019/1

556

571

254

2020/1

544

559

257

2021/1

542

558

256

2002/1

1,349
1,373
1,378
1,388
1,375
1,388
1,381
1,360
1,356

*The number of JP Registrars for the Organizational/Geographic Type JP domain names is the figure after April 2002 when management andadministration was transferred from JPNIC to JPRS.

28 Registry ReportNumber of Complaints Based on JP Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy (JP-DRP)

02・6

16

(Number of cases)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 201020112012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 20192020

(Number of cases)

Year

Number

2000

2

2001

11

2002

6

2003

7

2004

4

2005

11

2006

8

2007

10

2008

3

2009

9

2010

7

2011

12

2012

15

2013

10

2014

8

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

7
9
5
7
9
10

*For details of domain name disputes, please refer to the “Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (DRP)” posted by Japan Network Information Center (https://www.nic.ad.jp/en/drp/).

Registry Report29

03 Reference

03・1
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

2005

Dec.
Feb.
Apr.
May
Feb.
Apr.
Oct.
Jan.
Jun.
Jul.
Feb.
Jul.
Dec.
Jan.
Dec.

2006

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

Jan.
Apr.
Nov.
Dec.
Mar.
Dec.
Mar.
Jun.
Oct.
Apr.
Nov.
May
Jan.
Feb.
May
Jul.
Sep.
Nov.
Mar.
Nov.
Nov.
Jun.
Oct.
Apr.
Jun.

2017

Sep.
Oct.

2018

Feb.
Nov.
Sep.
Jan.
Aug.

2019
2020

Oct.

30 Registry Report

History
JPRS was established.
General-use JP Domain Priority Registration Application started.
General-use JP Domain Concurrent Registration Application started.
General-use JP Domain First-Come First-Served Registration Application started.
ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement was concluded with ICANN.
Management and administration of .JP TLD was transferred from JPNIC to JPRS.
LG.JP was established.
The number of registered JP domain names surpassed 500,000.
JPRS received the approval from ICANN to start IDN service.
RFC-based Japanese JP Domain Name registration service started.
IP Anycast technology was introduced in JP DNS service ([a.dns.jp] [d.dns.jp]).
JP domain name started full support for IPv6, for the first time in the world as a TLD.
The portal site “Nihongo dot JP” (https://日本語.jp/) for promoting Japanese JP Domain Name waslaunched.
The portal site “Jinmei Jiten dot JP” (https://人名事典.jp/) to introduce Japanese JP domain names
using personal names was launched.
“Eki Machi Guide” (https://駅街ガイド.jp/), which provides information on areas around stations using
Japanese JP domain names consisting of station names throughout Japan, started.
JPRS started operation of the M-Root DNS server in cooperation with the WIDE Project.
JPRS started deleting improper DNS server registrations.
JPRS shortened the processing time for JP DNS update.
The number of registered General-use JP domain names surpassed 500,000.
JPRS published guidelines for making URLs consisting of Japanese domain names clickable in email text.
“Procedure for recovering deleted domain name registration” was introduced for General-use JP
Domain Name.
IP Anycast technology was introduced to the JP DNS service ([e.dns.jp]).
The number of registered JP domain names surpassed 1 million.
JPRS started the real-time application process service for CO.JP Domain Name.
The JP DNS server configuration was changed (c.dns.jp and g.dns.jp added).
JPRS announced its participation in the “BIND 10” development project.
JPRS extended the coverage of the real-time application process service.
JPRS started distributing a cartoon booklet “How the Internet Works” free of charge to junior andsenior high schools across Japan.
JPRS deployed DNSSEC to the JP domain name service.
JPRS started providing “gTLD Registration Services.”
JPRS published “DNS Practices,” a book on DNS, written by JPRS engineers.
Priority Registration Application of the Prefecture Type JP Domain Name started.
Concurrent Registration Application of the Prefecture Type JP Domain Name started.
General Registration Application of the Prefecture Type JP Domain Name started.
The number of registered Prefecture Type JP domain names surpassed 10,000.
The TTL value of the DS RR for JP DNS servers was changed.
JPRS introduced Japanese characters into the Prefecture Labels of the Prefecture Type JP Domain Name.
JPRS signed an MoU with ICANN and JPNIC on Japanese translation of ICANN materials.
JPRS started providing JP Registrars with “JP Domain Name Usage Support Program for Students.”
JPRS Started Digital Certificates Issuance Services.
JPRS submitted a notification of its telecommunications business in response to the enactment of thepartial amendment to the Telecommunications Business Law.
The number of registered General-use JP domain names surpassed 1 million.
JPRS started accepting Concurrent Registration Applications for Japanese JP domain names
representing school names.
JPRS published the report of joint research with 8 ISPs of the electric power corporation group on
continued use of the Internet in case of a large-scale disaster.
The number of registered JP domain names surpassed 1.5 million.
“Textbook to understand DNS well,” a practical guide to DNS authored by JPRS engineers, was published.
JPRS acquired ISO 27001 certification (for the domain registry business).
JPRS attained full compliance with the WebTrust criteria that ensure the reliability of Certificate Authorities.
JPRS, the WIDE Project and APNIC agreed to establish a new cooperative relationship for the deploymentof M-Root instances.
The number of registered JP domain names surpassed 1.6 million.

03・2

JP Domain Name Advisory Committee

The JP Domain Name Advisory Committee was established in 2002 in order to maintain fairness and neutrality of the .JP
registry operations. The committee members from outside of JPRS with various viewpoints consider policies for JP
domain name services.
JP Domain Name Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public, and the minutes and documents are publicly
accessible on the JPRS website.

(1) Advisory Committee Meetings
Jun. 467th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee
It was reported that Ryoji Yamazaki had become a member representing the Japanese government in
the 10th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee, following a personnel change in the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications.
JPRS outlined the status of .JP and other TLDs, the circumstances surrounding domain names and its
most recent activities. It also gave an update on the management and administration of the .JP top-leveldomain amid COVID-19 and its response to the pandemic. The committee then exchanged opinions
about these topics.
The JPRS Board of Directors submitted an inquiry entitled “Treatment of a JP Domain Name That Was
Eligible When Registered and Subsequently Lost its Eligibility” (JPRS-ADV-2020001). The committee
members expressed their opinions on the content of the inquiry and then agreed on the direction of theadvisory report.
The committee members reviewed and finalized the outline of the advisory report after the committee
meeting.

Sep. 29

68th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee
It was reported that Ken Umemura had become a member representing the Japanese government in the10th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee, following a personnel change in the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications.
The committee members reviewed the draft advisory report entitled “Treatment of a JP Domain NameThat Was Eligible When Registered and Subsequently Lost its Eligibility” that had been developed on thebasis of the outline finalized after the 67th committee meeting. The advisory report was confirmed andthen delivered to JPRS on September 29.

Dec. 869th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee
JPRS gave a status update on its response to the advisory report entitled “Treatment of a JP Domain NameThat Was Eligible When Registered and Subsequently Lost its Eligibility” (JPRS-ADVRPT-2020001).
The JPRS Board of Directors submitted an inquiry entitled “Method for Appointing the Members of the
11th JP Domain Name Advisory Committee” (JPRS-ADV-2020002). Each committee member expressed
their opinion on the contents of the inquiry, and the committee then agreed on the method. Following the69th Advisory Committee meeting, the committee reviewed the advisory report. The report was finalized
on December 21 and then was delivered to JPRS.

Registry Report31

03 Reference(2) Consultations and Advisories
Consultation / Advisory

Consultation Date
Document No.

Advisory Date
Document No.

Treatment of a JP Domain Name That Was Eligible
When Registered and Subsequently Lost its Eligibility

Feb. 28, 2020
JPRS-ADV-2020001

Nov. 29, 2020
JPRS-ADVRPT-2020001

Method for appointing members of the 11th
JP Domain Name Advisory Committee

Dec. 8, 2020
JPRS-ADV-2020002

Dec. 21, 2020
JPRS-ADVRPT-2020002*For details about the past consultations and advisory themes, please refer to “JP Domain Name Advisory Committee” (https://jprs.jp/advisory/)(in Japanese).

32 Registry Report

03・3

Proposals and Presentations

Date

Title

At

Hosted by

Feb. 17

The 2019 APTLD UPDATEAP* Retreat

AP*

Feb. 20.JP DNSSEC key signing ceremony and the role of TCR

77th APTLD Melbourne Meeting

APTLD

Feb. 20

DNS Root Server Governance

77th APTLD Melbourne Meeting

APTLD

Apr. 14

draft-fujiwara-dnsop-avoid-fragmentation-03

IETF 107 Interim dnsop WG

IETF

Apr. 21

Update of ccNSO at ICANN67

57th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Apr. 21

Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) Update

57th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

May 25

Tour de table

Jun. 23

ccTLD governance model “for profit company”

Jun. 26

Overview of NXNSAttack

DNS Summer Day 2020

DNSOPS.JP

Jun. 26

DNSSEC Key Ceremony in Times of Covid-19

DNS Summer Day 2020

DNSOPS.JP

Jun. 26

Technical Information Provided by JPRS (July 2019–June 2020)

DNS Summer Day 2020

DNSOPS.JPJ u l. 31

Proper Domain Name Management and Security

CSC Free Online Seminar

CSC Japan

Aug. 4

Update of ccNSO at ICANN68

58th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Aug. 4

Update of the Discussion on the DNS Root Server System

58th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Sep. 2

Recent requests regarding abusive domain names

78th APTLD Meeting

APTLD

Oct. 6

Japanese Generation Panel Update at ICANN69

ICANN69

ICANN

Nov. 12

Tour de table

CENTR Marketing Workshop

CENTR

Nov. 17

draft-ietf-dnsop-avoid-fragmentation

IETF 109 dnsop WG

IETF

Nov. 19RSSAC & RSS GWG

APAC Space

APAC Space

Nov. 20

Delegation Information (Referrals) Signer for DNSSEC
draft-fujiwara-dnsop-delegation-information-signer-00

IETF 109 dnsop WG

IETF

Nov. 26

JP DNS Update2020

Internet Week 2020 DNSDAY

JPNIC

Nov. 26

Basics of DNS

Internet Week 2020 DNSDAY

JPNIC

Nov. 26

DNS Update – Domain Name Overview –Internet Week 2020 DNSDAY

JPNIC

Nov. 26

Evolution of DNS Protocol 2020 (Standardization in IETF)

Internet Week 2020 DNSDAY

JPNIC

Nov. 26

DNS Administration in the Era of Managed Service– Featuring DNS Takeover – Lunch with DNSInternet Week 2020 Lunch Time
JPNIC
WebinarDec. 3Update of ccNSO at ICANN69

59th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Dec. 3Update of the Discussion on the DNS Root Server System

59th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Dec. 3

Root Zone LGR and Japanese Generation Panel (JGP)

59th ICANN Readout Session

JPNIC

Dec. 3

Proposal for scoring and indicating malicious use of
domain names by using domain name related information

13th Internet and Operation
Technology Symposium(IOTS 2020)

SIG Internet and Operation
Technology (IOT), Information
Processing Society of JapanCENTR Jamboree 2020
(Marketing Workshop)
ICANN68(ccNSO Members Meeting)

CENTR
ICANN ccNSO

Registry Report33

03 Reference

03・4

Press Releases

Date

Title

Feb. 7JPRS Obtains WebTrust Accreditation for Certification Authorities

Feb. 17

JPRS Supports “22nd Japan Junior/Senior High School Web Contest” to Provide
Experience of Using JP Domain Names (in Japanese)

Mar. 26

JPRS Publishes "JP Domain Name Registry Report 2019" (in Japanese)

Jun. 15JPRS Distributes Free Graphic Comic-style Booklet on Domain Names and DNS That
Underpin the Internet to Educational Institutions across Japan (in Japanese)

Aug. 31

M-Root deployment to expand under new collaboration agreement

Oct . 2JP Domain Names Surpassed 1.6 Million

Oct . 26

Hirofumi Hotta of JPRS Received Recognition from ICANN

Nov. 5JPRS Starts Distributing Free Poster That Helps Students Have Fun Learning Internet ccTLDs
to Educational Institutions across Japan (in Japanese)

Dec. 7JPRS Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

Dec. 18

M-Root Instance Launched in Brisbane Based on a New Cooperative Relationship with APNIC*Please refer to Press Release (https://jprs.co.jp/en/press/) for the latest releases in English.

34 Registry Report03・5

Provision of Technical Information
Related to DNSAs the company supporting the basis of the Internet society through DNS and striving to ensure stable operation of
the Internet, JPRS publishes technical information related to DNS such as warnings on the detection of DNS
software vulnerabilities and other relevant alerts.

*Original materials are written in Japanese.

Date

Title

Apr. 17

Vulnerability Information on Windows DNS Posted (CVE-2020-0993)

May 20(Urgent) Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage and Abnormal Operations) (CVE-2020-8617)

May 20(Urgent) Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (Degraded Performance and Exploitation for Reflection Attacks) (CVE-2020-8616)

May 21

Vulnerability Information on Knot Resolver Posted (CVE-2020-12667)

May 21

Vulnerability Information on PowerDNS Recursor Posted (CVE-2020-10995, CVE-2020-12244, CVE-2020-10030)

May 21

Vulnerability Information on Unbound Posted (CVE-2020-12662, CVE-2020-12663)

Jun. 18

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8619)

Jun. 18

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8618)

Jul.7

Vulnerability Information on PowerDNS Recursor Posted (CVE-2020-14196)

J u l . 16

Vulnerability Information on Windows DNS Server Posted (CVE-2020-1350)

Aug. 14

Vulnerability Information on Windows DNS Cache Resolver Service Posted (CVE-2020-1584)

Aug. 21

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (Permission of Dynamic Update Not Intended by Service Providers) (CVE-2020-8624)

Aug. 21

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8623)

Aug. 21

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8622)

Aug. 21

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8621)

Aug. 21

Vulnerability of BIND 9.x (DNS Service Outage) (CVE-2020-8620)

Sep. 17

Vulnerability Information on Windows DNS Cache Resolver Service Posted (CVE-2020-0839)

Sep. 17

Vulnerability Information on Windows DNS Posted (CVE-2020-0836, CVE-2020-1228)

Sep. 24

DNS Flag Day 2020

Sep. 25

Vulnerability Information on PowerDNS Authoritative Server Posted(CVE-2020-24696, CVE-2020-24697, CVE-2020-24698)

Sep. 25

Vulnerability Information on PowerDNS Authoritative Server Posted (CVE-2020-17482)

Oct. 16

Vulnerability Information on PowerDNS Recursor Posted (CVE-2020-25829)

Dec. 3

Vulnerability Information on NSD Posted (CVE-2020-28935)

Dec. 8Vulnerability Information on Unbound Posted (CVE-2020-28935)

Dec. 11

Security Advisory on Windows DNS Posted*For the latest information, please refer to the “Technical Information Related to DNS” (https://jprs.jp/tech/) (in Japanese).

Registry Report35About JPRSJPRS provides domain name services such as domain name management, administration anddistribution, and also performs domain name system (DNS) operations. In addition, JPRS is
engaged in research and development of various Internet technologies.

Domain Name Management and Administration
JPRS manages and administers domain names. In particular, JPRS plays an important role as the registry of JP
Domain Name, or domain names of Japan. You may have seen addresses for websites and emails such as“https://○○○.jp” and “△△△@○○○.jp. ” JPRS manages and administers a part of these addresses, namely,

strings in the form of “○○○.jp. ” Domain names are the key to accessing the Internet. JPRS is constantly improving
its services so that JP domain names will continue to assist the activities of all kinds of Internet users, including
companies, organizations, and individuals.

DNS Operation
DNS (domain name system) is a system for identifying computers connected to the Internet using domain names, so

it is sometimes referred to as the “phone book for the Internet.” If DNS were to fail, people would not be able toaccess websites or exchange emails using domain names. To prevent such a catastrophe, JPRS has established a
24/7 system to ensure stable operation of the “JP DNS” for managing JP domain names.

R&D of Internet Technologies and International Activities to Support the Internet
JPRS takes an active part in the research and development of advanced technologies to promptly respond tochanges in the Internet environment and social needs. Specifically, JPRS engages in devising methods for resolving
issues concerning DNS operations and submitting proposals to standardize registry technologies. JPRS actively
publishes the results of these activities and shares information at IETF and other meetings to contribute to the
network society.

36 Registry ReportPublished: 22 June 2021
Note: This English translation is provided for informational purposes only. For

accuracy, please refer to the Japanese version. Copyright © 2021 Japan Registry
Services Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. JPRS, Japan Registry Services and othertrademarks, service marks and designs are registered or unregistered trademarks ofJapan Registry Services Co., Ltd. in Japan and other countries. All other trademarks
not owned by Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. that appear in this report are theproperty of their respective owners.

JPドメイン名レジストリレポート 2017https://jprs.co.jp/en/