The government and the ruling coalition are considering urging the two regional arms of telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to merge in spring 2002 -- less than three years after they were split -- according to coalition sources.

The sources said the government may present to the ordinary session of the Diet early next year a bill to revise the NTT law that would allow NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. to merge.

If the bill clears the Diet, the two NTT regional arms, created in July 1999 under the reorganization of the Japanese phone giant, would be reunited by spring 2002.