- Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 04:04:42 +0200
- From: ajp <ajp@glocom.ac.jp>
- Subject: MPT Publishes Vision of Internet Domain Name Administration
(from Nikkei's AsiaBizTech web site.)
http://www.nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com/articles/98071310.html
MPT Publishes Vision of Internet Domain Name Administration
July 13, 1998 (TOKYO) --
Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) released a
report entitled "Toward a new era of domain name administration for the
21st century," which focuses on the administration of Internet domain
names. The report, released July 7, is a summary of discussions on
Internet domain names by a working group that has met five times since
March.
Although it is not a formal statement of government policy, the report
expresses views on an international system of domain name
administration. It says that cooperation between the government sector
and private organizations is essential for maintaining a stable domain-
name registration system.
The system for registering and administering domain names -- the
character strings that identify destinations in communications over the
Internet -- is due for some changes.
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a plan (called the "White
Paper") in June for privatizing domain name registration and
administration. The White Paper calls for the setting up of a new
organization, led by the private sector, to administer domain names .
The MPT report indicates a broad agreement with the White Paper, and it
applauds the process of seeking submissions from a wide spectrum of
interested international parties.
The ministry has three principal aims in publishing its report.
The first is to promote basic understanding of the domain
administration system.
The second aim is to express, as an organization representing the
Japanese government, a vision of a global system for administering
generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that can be used irrespective of the
country of origin (for example, .com, .net, and .org).
The third aim is to point out the need for an administration system for
country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) allocated to nations (for
example, .jp and .uk), and to call for coordination among nations in
implementing such a system.
A distinctive feature of the MPT report is its submissions on the need
for a proper ccTLD registration system. The U.S. government's White
Paper touches only briefly on this issue.
Also, the report argues that the domain name administration
organizations in each country, such as the Japan Network Information
Center (JPNIC), should join forces to hammer out systematized domain-
name allocation policies and that government representatives should
participate as observers.
As the report points out, some ccTLDs have been allocated regardless of
the user's nationality, and the differences between allocation policies
in various countries could create confusion among Internet users.
The ministry is preparing to solicit broad-based public comments by
publishing the report on its Web site as well as selling a printed
version.
(Nikkei Communications)