European Commission President Romano Prodi on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a 20 percent reduction over two years in interconnection fees charged by NTT Corp.

Speaking to business representatives at a meeting in Tokyo organized by the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Prodi said the cuts reflect the positive aspects of Japan's regulatory reform.

Prodi said that although Japan has made progress by deregulating the financial sector and adopting internationally recognized standards, further regulatory reforms are needed.