Apparently the Japanese government has launch a review of the mobile phone SIM Lock system which stops people from swapping their SIM cards out so they can talk on a different carrier reports an article over on gizmodo.
According to the article originating from Yahoo News, the 3 major Japanese mobile carriers all sell mobile phones that use the SIM Lock system so that their handsets only accept the carrier’s own SIM cards.
The SIM Lock system means that when Japanese people travel abroad they have to use the international services of their carrier rather than being able to swap out the SIM card to a local carrier.
The top mobile phone carrier in Japan, NTT DoCoMo has reacted with caution to the governmental review of the SIM Lock system and has said that “careful discussions” are needed.