The United States has urged Japan to establish an independent telecommunications regulatory authority to provide a competitive framework for telecom services.

According to a copy of the recommended reforms, the U.S. also demanded that Japan strengthen and implement dominant carrier regulations to prevent competitive abuses by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. and reduce high interconnection rates.

The U.S. urged the establishment of a legal framework to ensure that use of the Internet and e-commerce can thrive.

In the recommendations, the U.S. also demanded the promotion of new entries into the electricity and gas industries, the introduction of competitive market forces to improve the health-care system and expanded roles for private companies in hospitals and nursing-care facilities.

The Japanese government must ensure that the Fair Trade Commission has the tools and resources to enforce the Antimonopoly Act effectively, the U.S. said.

Japan and the U.S. exchanged recommendations Sunday under the Japan-U.S. Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative.

In June, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed on a new framework for bilateral economic talks. The two leaders decided to set up four governmental panels and a government-private sector commission to address issues that include macroeconomic policies, trade, investment and deregulation.

The initiative is meant to spur economic growth by focusing on sectoral and cross-sectoral issues related to regulatory reform and competition policy.