TOKYO -- Japan's government on Wednesday approved plans by four mobile network operators to build superfast fifth-generation wireless networks, with investment set to total 1.6 trillion yen ($14.4 billion) over the next five years.
Applications submitted by NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank and Rakuten were approved by the communications ministry. E-commerce group Rakuten is a newcomer that plans to begin 4G services in October.
