The Impact of Convergence on the Telecommunications Law and Broadcasting-Related Laws: A Comparison between Japan and Taiwan

In order to cope with the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting, the governments of Japan and Taiwan have both considered integrating telecommunications law and broadcasting laws. In Japan, the integration work started in 2006 which was earlier than its commencement in Taiwan. Before the Democratic Party took the helm in August 2009, Japan planned to integrate nine laws into one. However, in March 2010, Japan announced that it would realign eight laws concerned with communications and broadcasting into four laws. Compared with Japan, the pace of alignment in Taiwan became slower because of inconsistent government policy. However, the common belief shared by both governments is that the layer model is a trend for the convergence of communications laws in the future. While it was easier for Japan to adopt the layer model (horizontal regulation) when it revised its laws, Taiwan will require more time and effort to put the layer model into practice. To most Taiwanese stakeholders, whether the regulator will adopt horizontal regulation or vertical regulation is not that important. They only care about the impact and the substantial changes caused by the revised laws.