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Docomo offers free Amazon Prime as Japan's 5G race heats up

Nov 27, 2019 (Nikkei) - Top Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo will offer customers a free year of Amazon Prime as telecom and tech companies form alliances ahead of next spring's rollout of ultrafast 5G wireless service.

Starting Dec. 1, Docomo will cover the roughly $45 annual cost of Amazon Prime membership for subscribers to new rate plans launched in June, giving them access to the service's catalog of thousands of movies and dramas. The tie-up was announced Tuesday.

"We anticipate an inflow [of customers] from other companies," Docomo President Kazuhiro Yoshizawa told a news conference here.

The vastly increased data speeds and capacity of 5G networks compared with 4G are expected to make entertainment a bigger battleground for wireless carriers.

Docomo already gives subscribers access to Disney streaming videos, as well as sports content from DAZN, a U.K.-based service. Rival KDDI launched in September a new unlimited-data plan that includes a subscription to Netflix.

SoftBank Corp., Japan's third-largest carrier by subscribers, has a partnership with U.S. chip designer Nvidia and South Korea's LG group in 5G cloud gaming.

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Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved its first annual basic economic and fiscal policy on Tuesday, pledging "responsible and proactive fiscal policy" and envisioning about 370 trillion yen in public- and private-sector investment in strategic industries through fiscal 2040.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

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The rainy season ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions on July 20 as strengthening high pressure brought intense heat across Japan, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 C in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, and Kofu.

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