About ETOC

By having honest businesses maintain certification and conducting number transactions with other certified businesses, we aim to streamline the entire domestic telephone number supply chain.

We aim to create an environment in which telecommunications carriers can conduct wholesale transactions with peace of mind, while ensuring that reputable carriers are visible to consumers. Through these efforts, we aim to ensure the healthy development of the telecommunications market.

■2023 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Survey on the Objective Judgment of the Quality of Telephone Forwarding Providers https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000937348.pdf

There was an opinion that measures should not be limited to telephone forwarding service providers, but should also be taken for designated number providers (all wholesale transactions of telephone services).

p.31

1. This evaluation system is considered to be useful not only for users, but also for business-to-business transactions when wholesale provision is made between designated number carriers and wholesalers, so it is important to actively promote its introduction, including by designated number carriers. 2. When users and businesses select a call forwarding business, it is necessary to promote efforts to select from certified businesses and increase incentives for obtaining certification. 3. It is also important to promote awareness activities among businesses and users. While neutral evaluation organizations should play a central role in awareness activities, it is also important for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to back them up with awareness activities, etc.

The diagram on page 33 lists wholesalers (number-designated carriers, etc.) and wholesale destination carriers (telephone forwarding carriers, etc.), and lists all carriers other than telephone forwarding service providers.

■2024 Information and Communications Council Working Group on Countermeasures against Criminal Use of Telecommunications Numbers https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000965682.pdf

When efforts to prevent the inappropriate use of telephone numbers were discussed, in addition to measures on the institutional side (certification of number use plans, etc.), reports were made on the importance of the "evaluation system being considered for establishment primarily by business associations" and strengthening mutual complementarity and cooperation with the evaluation system.

p.31 In addition to institutional responses, it is also effective to cooperate with voluntary efforts by businesses, such as the evaluation system that is being considered for establishment mainly by trade associations such as JUSA, and to complement each other from both the institutional and practical aspects. For this reason, it is important for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to position the evaluation system as an important initiative, support it, and build it into the industry.

p.32① Confirmation of certification of telecommunications number usage plans From the perspective of certainty and stability of operation, confirmation will be done through written confirmation such as a certificate of certification. As a voluntary initiative by businesses, they may check against the list of certified businesses published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications or refer to the evaluation system that is being considered for establishment mainly by business associations such as JUSA.

p.42 For the proper management of telecommunications numbers, it is important that both the system and the actual situation complement each other, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications needs to continue to strengthen cooperation with voluntary initiatives by businesses, such as the evaluation system that is being considered for establishment mainly by business associations such as JUSA .

Benefits for wholesalers (number designation carriers, carriers that resell telephone numbers, etc.)

1. You can easily check the creditworthiness of the other party before entering into a wholesale number contract.

2. By utilizing it to confirm wholesale destinations and making certification a condition for wholesale provision, it is possible to minimize the risk of misuse or inappropriate use of the numbers managed by your company.

3. It becomes possible to present your company's creditworthiness to customers.

Benefits for wholesalers

1. You can increase your company's credibility.

2. It becomes possible to present your company's creditworthiness to customers.

■ Benefits for users

1. It will be easier to identify and select good businesses.

2. It can prevent transactions with inappropriate businesses such as anti-social organizations and prevent your company's funds from flowing into them. It can be used to ensure your company's compliance.

3. By making maintaining certification a condition of use (purchase), businesses can be forced to maintain their integrity.

In order to increase their credibility and appear legitimate, unethical businesses (while providing numbers to anti-social forces) conduct normal business activities on websites, etc., posing as legitimate businesses, and there are cases in which users enter into contracts without realizing this. Unethical businesses use ordinary users as a shield to assert the legitimacy of their business activities, and use users as a shield to assert the appropriateness of their number use.

■ Current issues

・Good consumers, companies, and organizations may unintentionally provide funds to unscrupulous businesses and anti-social forces, resulting in compliance risks of unknowingly participating in anti-social activities and money laundering.

- It is extremely difficult for honest consumers, companies, and organizations to evaluate and verify the reliability of a service when selecting it in the first place.

- (In relation to wholesale transactions between businesses) Businesses have an obligation to evaluate the reliability of their wholesale clients (whether or not they are allowed to wholesale numbers), but this is extremely difficult in practice.

■The value of ETOC

ETOC provides the following environment to society by having all good businesses acquire the excellent business mark.

- It is possible to create an environment that prevents unintentional money laundering and the flow of one's own funds into anti-social activities.

- When users procure telephone services, they can avoid the risk of becoming involved in crimes, etc. when selecting a service provider by simply adding one more criterion: "Choose a service provider (service) that has the ETOC mark."

■ETOC Activities

To achieve this, ETOC will not only grant certification marks but also carry out the following activities:

・Implementation of certification for businesses

・Public relations and awareness activities for businesses (aiming to popularize the acquisition of certification marks)

- Public relations activities aimed at consumers, businesses, and other users (raising awareness by encouraging people to "purchase from businesses that have the certification mark")

1. We will authenticate the business (telephone carrier) that uses your phone number.

2. To promote the proper use of telephone numbers, we will carry out public relations and educational activities for both users and businesses.