The transport ministry plans to scrap regulations on the license system for cargo transport firms and allow trucking firms to transport cargo anywhere, ministry officials said Sunday.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry also intends to end the current requirement on firms to submit trucking services fees in advance and to display their fees at their offices, they said.
It also plans to lift the regulation on new entries into railway cargo transport services to liberalize the business, the officials said.
The deregulation is designed to help promote competition, cut distribution costs and raise efficiency in Japan's transport system, they said.
The ministry will submit a set of bills to revise the laws on trucking services, cargo transport businesses and railway businesses to the current regular Diet session so the deregulatory measures can take effect within one year after the promulgation of the revised laws, they said.
Currently, trucking firms are banned from transporting cargo outside areas where their offices are located unless either the pickup point or destination is within the areas.
The bills would also allow the minister of land, infrastructure and transport to order changes in transport fees if they disrupt the "convenience" of customers and the public interest, the officials said.