On March 17, 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) approved the business plans of telephone relay service providers and telephone relay support organizations for fiscal year 2023.

The telephone relay service is in line with the provisions of Article 8 of the Act Concerning the Facilitation of Telephone Use by the Hearing Impaired (Act No. 53 of 2020). It provides a two-way telephone connection between persons with hearing impairments and those without hearing or speech difficulties by interpreting sign language/text and speech by an interpreter. The service started on July 1, 2021.

The Nippon Foundation Telephone Relay Service has been approved as a telephone relay service provider since the previous year, providing such services through interpreters.

In addition, the Telephone Relay Service Support Organization is authorized under Article 23, Paragraph 1 of the Act, and the Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA) was authorized to provide telecommunication technology infrastructure and other services. The TCA collects contributions from telecommunications carriers to cover the costs of telephone relay service support operations and provides grants to telephone relay service providers, among other services.

For more information, please visit: https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01ryutsu05_02000153.html