NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION:NewsRelease

July 5, 2001

Comments Sought on Proposal to Revise Ethics Screening Framework in Selecting Content to be Accessed from L-Menu List in L-Mode Service

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation (NTT East) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (NTT West) will begin offering L-mode service on Friday, June 29, 2001. In preparation for this day, the two companies are working to improve usability of the service and enhance the content availability.

In selecting content for the service, an ethics panel has been appointed to the task of screening content from the standpoint of protecting consumers. Some of the potential content providers have asked that the framework of this screening be revised.

NTT East and NTT West have therefore drawn up a proposal for revising this ethics screening framework, have made the proposal available on their Web sites along with the opinions that have been received, and have decided to solicit comments from the public regarding the proposed revision.

1. Gist of the proposed revision to the ethics screening framework
In selecting content to be made available on the L-menu list of L-mode service, currently all the content is subjected to ethics review by a third-party organization. The proposed revision to this policy is to make an exception in the case of content provided by government bodies, exempting such content from the screening process on account of its special status.

2. Availability of materials on which comments are solicited
The materials on which comments are solicited are available at the Web site addresses below. Persons lacking Web access may request to have the materials sent by mail or fax as indicated below.

Web site addresses:

NTT East:	http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/Lmode/
NTT West:	http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/Lmode/

3. Deadline for submitting comments
Comments must be received no later than 6:00 p.m., Thursday, July 12, 2001

4. How to submit comments
Please see the attachment.

5. Other
The comments received are to be made public along with the views of NTT East and NTT West as soon as a consensus is reached. It is possible that a new proposal on revising the screening framework will be made as a result of the comments received, and that comments on the new proposal will be solicited.

Note that NTT East and NTT West may also make public the names of the persons, companies, or organizations offering comments, along with information about their affiliation.

- Attachment How to Submit Comments