As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, 201524, 2016

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

OR

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 20152016

OR

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission file number: 1-31221

Kabushiki Kaisha NTT DOCOMO

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

NTT DOCOMO, INC.

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

Kenji Higashigaito Ayano Tamada or Yu Kunita, Investor Relations

TEL: +81-3-5156-1111 / FAX: +81-3-5156-0271

Sanno Park Tower, 2-11-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6150 Japan

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and /or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

As of March 31, 2015, 3,881,483,8552016, 3,760,616,750 shares of common stock were outstanding, comprised of 3,859,718,5433,738,635,242 shares and 21,765,31221,981,508 ADSs.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  x    No  ¨

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer    x            Accelerated filer    ¨            Non-accelerated filer    ¨

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP  x    International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board    ¨    Other    ¨

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

Item 17  ¨             Item 18  ¨

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

As used in this annual report, references to “DOCOMO,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” “our group” and “us” are to NTT DOCOMO, INC. and its subsidiaries except as the context otherwise requires.

As used in this annual report, reference to “NTT” is to our parent company, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION.

As used in this annual report, “Xi” refers to our LTE network service and “FOMA” refers to our W-CDMA network service.

Fiscal year 20142015 refers to our fiscal year ended March 31, 2015,2016, and other fiscal years are referred to in a corresponding manner.

Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This annual report contains forward-looking statements such as forecasts of results of operations, management strategies, objectives and plans, forecasts of operational data such as the expected number of subscriptions, and the expected dividend payments. All forward-looking statements that are not historical facts are based on management’s current plans, expectations, assumptions and estimates based on the information currently available. Some of the projected numbers in this report were derived using certain assumptions that were indispensable for making such projections in addition to historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in or suggested by any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following:

distribution channels, and/or other factors necessary for the provision of service, disrupting our ability to offer services to our subscribers and such incidents may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image, or lead to a reduction of revenues and/or increase of costs.

Our actual results could be materially different from and worse than as described in the forward-looking statements. Important risks and factors that could have a material impact on our actual results are set forth in “D. Risk Factors” in Item 3 and elsewhere in this annual report.

PART I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

The following tables include selected historical financial data as of and for each of the years ended March 31, 20112012 through 2015.2016. The data in the table is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated balance sheets for the years ended March 31, 20142015 and 2015,2016, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows for each of the years ended March 31, 20132014 through 2015,2016, and notes thereto appear elsewhere in this annual report.

Selected Financial Data

Exchange Rate Data

The following table shows the exchange rates for Japanese yen per $1.00 based upon the noon buying rate in New York City for cash transfers in foreign currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York:

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

D.	Risk Factors

Risks Relating to Our Business

This annual report contains forward-looking statements such as forecasts of results of operations, management strategies, objectives and plans, forecasts of operational data such as the expected number of subscription, and the expected dividend payments. All forward-looking statements that are not historical facts are based on management’s current plans, expectations, assumptions and estimates based on the information currently available. Some of the projected numbers in this report were derived using certain assumptions that are indispensable for making such projections in addition to historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in or suggested by any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following:

Changes in the market environment in the telecommunications industry, such as intensifying competition from other businesses or other technologies caused by Mobile Number Portability, development of appealing new handsets, new market entrants, mergers among other service providers and other factors, or the expansion of the areas of competition could limit the acquisition of new subscriptions and retention of existing subscriptions by our corporate group, or it may lead to ARPU diminishing at a greater than expected rate, an increase in our costs, or an inability to optimize costs as expected.

Mobile Number Portability (“MNP”), the development of appealing handsets, the entry of new service providers, mergers among other service providers and other factors are intensifying competition for our corporate group from other service providers in the telecommunications industry. For example, other mobile service providers have introduced handsets that keep up with the needs and desires of customers, including handsets that support high-speed services and music/video playback, new services such as music and video distribution services, and flat-rate services for voice communications and e-mail, as well as installment sales methods for devices. If, in the future, other providers offer services that are more convenient or handsets that are more appealing to customers in the future, we may be unable to respond in a timely and suitable manner. If we are unable to build a network having a certain area and quality within the anticipated period of time, while other service providers build mobile communications networks with an area and quality that exceeds ours, customer satisfaction with our network may decline.

At the same time, competition is intensifying as a result of the introduction of other new services and technologies, especially low-priced and flat-rate services, such as fixed-line or mobile IP phones (including services that use applications that run on our smartphones and tablets), high-speed broadband Internet service, digital broadcasting, public wireless LAN using Wi-Fi, free or low-priced services of OTT^*1 service providers, the provision of SIM^*2 cards, or a combination of these services.

In addition to competition from other service providers and technologies in the telecommunications industry, there are other factors increasing competition among mobile network operators, such as saturation in the Japanese mobile communications market, changes to business and market structures and the environment due to the expansion of the areas of competition arising from the entry of competitors in the market, including MVNOs^*3 and competitors from other industries. With the use of open platform devices like smartphones and tablets becoming increasingly widespread, many businesses and others have entered the competition in service offerings on mobile phones, and in addition, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION (“NTT EastEast”) and NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION (“NTT WestWest”) started a wholesale optical-fiber access service which enables a diverse group of market participants to provide services utilizing optical-fiber connections and set discounts for fixed and mobile network services, so it is possible that such businesses and others may eventually launch services that are more convenient for customers, and further intensify rate competition. Moreover, there has been an increase in mobile communications operators entering into and collaborating with other industries, including due to factors such as the full liberalization of the electricity market, and rate competition could intensify due to discounts for packages incorporating services provided by operators in different industries.

In this market environment, the decline in the number of net new subscriptions we acquire may accelerate in the future and the number of net new subscriptions we acquire may not reach the number we expect. Also, we

may not be able to maintain existing subscriptions as customers migrate to other service providers due to increased competition. Furthermore, in order to capture new subscriptions and maintain existing subscriptions, there could be a greater-than-expected decline in ARPU and/or greater-than-expected costs. In this fierce market environment, in order toTo provide advanced services and increase convenience to our customers under such market conditions, we have made various revisions, such as in rates and the provision of discounted services.services for each rate type. For example, we introduced the flat-rate domestic voice service to our subscribers and the packet flat-rate services for LTE (Xi) subscribers. We also introducedwith a fixed amount discount from the monthly usage ratescharges set for each equipment type. As additional newtype, and introduced fee plans for flat-rate domestic voice services we also introduced “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru,”Pake-aeru” which allows for the sharing of packet telecommunicationsenable customers to set and share monthly data volume amongquotas with family, members or the same company or organization,and “Zutto DOCOMO Wari,” a discount service for long-term customers, and “U25 Ouen Wari” a discount plan for customers under 25 up to years of age. In addition, in connection with the commencement of our provision of the “docomo Hikari” optical-fiber broadband service, we launchedintroduced “docomo Hikari Pack”,Pack,” which provides the “docomo Hikari” optical-fiber broadband service together with smartphones or mobile phones, on March 1, 2015.

phones. In the current fiscal year, we also introduced “Kake-hodai Light Plan” and “Share pack 5” as new rate plans for light users. However, we cannot be certain that these rate revisions and discounted services will enable us to acquire new and maintain existing subscriptions. Also,It is also possible that the subscription ratio for various discount services or the trend in migration to flat-rate services may not be in line with theour group’s expectations, of our corporate group, and our ARPU may decrease more than projected. Furthermore, if market growth slows or the market shrinks, ARPU may decrease even more than our forecast and we may not be able to capture new subscriptions or maintain the existing number of subscriptions at the level we expect. In addition, in order to reinforce our managerial structure, we are promoting increased efficiency related to our network, sales and services, research and development and narrowing our product line-up to concentrate resources. The push toward greater efficiency, however, may not proceed as expected, and costs may not be optimized as anticipated due to intense competition from other service providers and changes in the market environment.

These foregoing factors may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

If current and new services, usage patterns, and sales schemes proposed and introduced by our corporate group cannot be developed as planned, or if unanticipated expenses arise the financial condition of our corporate group could be affected and our growth could be limited.

We view increases in revenue as an important factor in our future growth. We aim to increase revenue by, for instance, promoting the more widespread use of i-mode services, of smartphone services such as sp-mode, “dmenu” and “dmarket,” and of LTE (Xi) services, as well as the expansion of the use of packet communications and other data communications in relation to such services and cloud services like “Shabette-Concier” and the like.services. Moreover, we look to increase returns through initiatives in new business areas based on the convergence of various businesses“smart life business” segment and services, such as finance/payment, commerce, medical/healthcare, Machine-to-Machine (“M2M”)/IoT^*1, environment/energy and education/learning with the aim of “realizing a smart life”“other businesses” segment as another important factor in future growth. However, a number of uncertainties may arise to prevent the development of these services and constrain our growth. For more information regarding “smart life business” and “other businesses” segments and the scope of the services that we provide through them, please see “B.4. Services” in Item 4.

Furthermore, if market growth slows or the market shrinks, the services, forms of usage, and sales methods provided by us may not develop sufficiently which could affect our financial conditions and limit our growth. In particular, we cannot be certain as to whether or not the following can be achieved:

operating systems and applications necessary to promote the use of smartphone and other services, with handset manufacturers, content providers, and with stores that have installed equipment capable of handling e-wallet transactions;

If the development of our corporate group’s new services, or forms of use or sales methods is limited or if development costs are more than anticipated, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The introduction or change of various laws or regulations inside and outside of Japan, or the application of such laws and regulations to our corporate group, could restrict our business operations, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The Japanese telecommunications industry has been undergoing regulatory reform in many areas, including rate regulation. Because we operate on radio spectrum allocated by the Japanese government, the mobile telecommunications industry in which we operate is particularly affected by the regulatory environment. Furthermore, in some cases, our group is subject to special regulations that are not imposed on other providers.

Various governmental bodies have been recommending or considering changes that could affect the mobile telecommunications industry, and there may be continued reforms, including the introduction or revision of laws, regulations, or systems that could have an adverse effect on us. These include:

In addition to the above proposed changes that may impact the mobile communications business, we may be impacted by a variety of laws, regulations, and systems inside and outside of Japan. For example, in response to an increase in the number of subscriptions or in the traffic* per subscriber, we have proceeded with the enhancement of our telecommunications facilities in order to ensure and improve our service quality. As a result, we are using an increasing amount of electricity. Moreover, we are implementing measures directed towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including deployment of low-power consumption devices and efficient power generators. However, with the implementation of regulations and other measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, our cost burdens may increase, and this may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Also, the financial condition and operating results of our corporate group may be adversely affected by the increased cost of maintaining and operating the facilities we require for providing our services on account of electricity cost increases due to high fuel prices. In July 2010 the “Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” was signed into law in the United States. Based on this, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission established rules in August 2012 requiring listed companies that use designated minerals in their products to disclose whether such minerals come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries. The implementation of these rules could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results in the form of higher costs arising from expense of conducting the research needed for regulatory compliance or from an increase in the prices of materials that use such minerals.

Further still, in order to ensure new sources of revenue, we are pursuing “+d” initiatives to create new value through the convergence of mobile services with various services and industries, including finance/payment, commerce, medical/healthcare, M2M/IoT, environment/energy, education/learning and other fields through equity participation and partnerships.industries. Therefore, we are vulnerable to

the impact of laws, regulations and systems specific to new services, operations and areas of business, in addition to the laws, regulations and systems applicable to the mobile communications business. If such laws, regulations, or systems are implemented, they may work as constraints on our group’s business operations, and this may have an adverse effect on our group’s financial condition and corporate performance.

It is difficult to predict with certainty if any proposed changes impacting the mobile telecommunications business, or if any other relevant laws, regulations or systems will be drafted, and if they are implemented, the extent to which our business will be affected. However, if any one or more of the above proposed changes impacting the mobile telecommunications business occurs, or if laws, regulations or systems are introduced, reformed, or become applicable to us, we may experience constraints on the provision of our mobile communication services, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Limitations in the amount of frequency spectrum or facilities made available to us could negatively affect our ability to maintain and improve our service quality and level of customer satisfaction and could increase our costs.

One of the principal limitations on a mobile communication network’s capacity is the available radio frequency spectrum we can use. There are limitations in the spectrum and facilities available to us to provide our services. As a result, in certain parts of metropolitan Tokyo and Osaka, such as areas near major train stations, our mobile communication network operates at or near the maximum capacity of its available spectrum during peak usage periods, which may cause reduced service quality.

Furthermore, with the number of subscriptions and traffic per subscriber increasing, our service quality may decline if we cannot obtain the necessary allocation of spectrum from the Japanese government for the smooth operation of our business.

Even though our corporate group plansAlso, in order for us to establish specified base stations to use the radio frequencies allocated 700MHz band as soon as the operating conditions are met, ifto us, it may require (i) measures for the acceleration (acceleration measures for termination) of the transfer of existing FPU^* and specified radio microphonesstations that are currently using thisthe same spectrum for other uses or (ii) discussion regarding agreements to share the same spectrum. If measures for the acceleration or discussion do not proceed as anticipated,planned, our corporate group may not be able to operate theits mobile communication network smoothly, service quality may decline, and additional expenses may arise.

Although we are working to improve the efficiency of our spectrum use through technology such as LTE/LTE-Advanced, including migration to LTE and other measures and to acquire additional spectrum, we may be unable to avoid a reduced quality of services.

In addition, due to the limited processing capacity of our base stations, switching facilities, and other equipment necessary for providing services, the quality of the services we provide may also decrease during peak usage periods if our subscription base dramatically increases or the volume of content such as images and music provided through our networks significantly expands. Also, in relation to our FOMA and LTE (Xi) services, the growth in the number of service subscribers and traffic per subscriber could significantly exceed our expectations due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets as well as data communication devices for PCs. Furthermore, some of the software that runs on smartphones and tablets could result in greater use of control signals (the signals exchanged between devices and the network) in order to establish and terminate communications, and could therefore put a greater-than-anticipated burden on our facilities. If it becomes impossible to process such traffic using our existing equipment, service quality may deteriorate, communication interruptions may arise and the cost of investing in equipment to address these issues could increase.

We are endeavoring to reinforce the network foundation in order to cope with future increases in smartphone traffic. If unforeseen circumstances should arise, such as communication interruptions due to an increase in the number of subscribers and traffic and/or control signals per subscriber, and we are not able to

address such problems sufficiently and in a timely manner, our ability to provide mobile communication services could be constrained or we could lose customers’ trust, and as a result, we could lose subscribers to our competitors. At the same time, the cost of investing in equipment to address these issues could increase, and this could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Other mobile service providers in the world may not adopt the technologies and the frequency bands that are compatible with those used by our corporate group’s mobile communications system on a continuing basis, which could affect our ability to sufficiently offer international services.

We are able to offer global roaming services on a worldwide basis on the condition that a sufficient number of other mobile service providers have adopted technologies and frequency bands that are compatible with those we use on our mobile communications systems. We expect that our overseas affiliates, strategic partners and many other mobile service providers will continue to use the technologies and the frequency bands that are compatible with ours, but there is no guarantee of this in the future.

If a sufficient number of mobile service providers do not adopt the technologies and the frequency bands that are compatible with ours, if mobile service providers switch to other technologies or frequency bands, or if there is a delay in the introduction and expansion of compatible technologies and frequency bands, we may not be able to offer international roaming or other services as expected, and we may not be able to offer our subscribers the convenience of overseas services.

Also, we cannot be sure that handset manufacturers or manufacturers of network equipment will be able to appropriately and promptly adjust their products if we need to change the handsets or network we currently use due to a change in the standard technology we adopt, resulting from the activities of standards organizations.

If such technologies and frequency bands compatible with those we have adopted do not develop as we expect and if we are not able to maintain or improve the quality of our overseas services, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our domestic and international investments, alliances and collaborations, as well as investments in new business fields, may not produce the returns or provide the opportunities we expect.

One of the major components of our strategy is “+d” initiatives to increase our corporate value through domestic and overseas investments, alliances and collaborations. We have entered into alliances and collaborations with other companies and organizations overseas which we believe can assist us in achieving this objective. We are also promoting this strategy by investing in, entering into alliances with, and collaborating with domestic companies and investing in newsmart life business fields.and other businesses.

However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance the value or performance of the past or future investments or joint ventures established, or that we will receive the returns or benefits we expect from these investments, alliances and collaborations. In our investments in newsmart life business fields outside of the mobile telecommunication business, such as finance/payment, commerce, medical/healthcare, M2M/IoT, environment/energy, education/learning and the like,other businesses anticipated synergies may not be realized due to uncertain and unforeseeable ancillary factors, as we have little experience in such new fields of business,businesses, and these factors may have an impact on our strategy. Furthermore, losses may arise due to dissolution or divestiture of investments, alliances and collaborations.

In recent years, the companies in which we have invested have experienced a variety of negative impacts, including severe competition, increased debt burdens, significant change in share prices and financial difficulties.

To the extent that these investments are accounted for by the equity method and to the extent that the investee companies have net losses, our financial results will be adversely affected by ourpro rata portion of these losses. If there is a loss in the value of our investment in any investee company and it is not regarded as a temporary decline, our corporate group may be required to adjust the book value and recognize an impairment loss for such investment. Also, a business combination or other similar transaction involving any of our investee companies could require us to realize impairment loss for any decline in the value of investment in such investee company. In either event, our financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Malfunctions, defects or imperfections in our products and services or those of other parties may give rise to problems.

Various functions are mounted on the mobile handsets we provide. Additionally, a large number of vendors, including our partners and other companies, provide services via the mobile handsets that we provide. If any problems arise due to the imperfection in a product or service provided by the Company or by another vendor such as technological problems in the handsets provided by us or by outside vendors or in software or systems, or if any other failures, defects, or losses arise, such problems could diminish our credibility or corporate image, lead to an increase in cancellations of subscriptions, or result in an increase in expenses for indemnity payments to subscribers, and our financial condition or results of operations may be affected. Furthermore in an effort to ensure new sources of revenue, we are pursuing initiatives toward the expansion of newsmart life business segment and other businesses through the convergence of mobile service with various other services and industries, including finance/payment, commerce, medical/healthcare, M2M/IoT, environment/energy and education/learning.segment. Should problems arise due to the imperfectionimperfections in such products or services theywe offer through smart life business and other businesses segments, such problems could diminish our credibility or corporate image and our financial condition or results of operations may be affected. Certain events may lead to a decrease in our credibility and corporate image, an increase in cancellations of subscriptions or increased costs. The following are possible examples of such events:

Social problems that could be caused by misuse or misunderstanding of our products and services may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image.

We may face an increase in cancellations of subscriber contracts and difficulty in acquiring new subscriptions due to decreased credibility of our products and services and damaged corporate image caused by inappropriate use of our products and services by subscribers.

For example, there are cases of unsolicited bulk e-mails being sent through our e-mail services, including docomo mail, sp-mode mail, i-mode mail and SMS. Despite our extensive efforts to address this issue caused by unsolicited bulk e-mails, including notifying our subscribers via various brochures, providing unsolicited bulke-mail filtering functions with our handsets and suspending our services to companies which distribute large amounts of such unsolicited bulk e-mails, the problem has not yet been rooted out. If our subscribers receive a large amount of unsolicited e-mail, it may cause a decrease in customer satisfaction and may damage our corporate image, leading to a reduction in the number of sp-mode or i-mode subscriptions.

The mobile phones used in connection with crimes such as billing fraud are most often rental mobile phones. To combat these misuses of our services, we have introduced various measures such as refusing to

provide services to unscrupulous mobile phone rental companies that violate the Mobile Phone Improper Use Prevention Act, such as by not confirming the identity of the individual at the time of rental. However, in the event that criminal usage increases, mobile phones may be regarded as a societal problem, which may lead to an increase in the cancellation of contracts.

In addition, problems have arisen from the fact that subscribers were charged fees for packet communication at higher levels than they anticipated as a result of using mobile phones without fully recognizing the increased volume and frequency of the use of packet communications as our handsets and services became more sophisticated. There have also been problems with high charges due to excessive use of paid content services, and problems due to an increasing amount of trouble and number of accidents caused by the use of mobile phones while driving, riding a bicycles or walking. Further, there are currently a variety of discussions concerning such issues as the pros and cons of elementary and junior high schools students having mobile phones, the sufficiency and accuracy of our access restriction service to screen harmful web sites (“filtering service”), which applies generally to subscribers under 2018 years of age in accordance with the enactment of the Act on Establishment of Enhanced Environment for Youth’s Safe and Secure Internet Use, and the increase in harm caused by the use of CGM* by young people, as they increasingly have access to the Internet from their mobile phones. These issues may similarly damage our corporate image.

We believe that we have properly addressed the social issues involving mobile phones by providing various services such as a filtering service and accessandaccess restriction services with user age authentication and cell phones specifically designed for young people. However, it is uncertain whether we will be able to continue to respond appropriately to those issues in the future. Should we fail to do so, we may experience an increase in the cancellation of existing subscriber contracts or fail to acquire new subscribers as expected, and this may affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Inadequate handling of confidential business information including personal information by our corporate group, contractors and others, may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image.

We possess information on numerous subscribers in telecommunications, credit, catalog salessmart life and other businesses, and to appropriately and promptly address the Law Concerning the Protection of Personal Information, we have put in place comprehensive company-wide security management that includes thorough management of confidential information such as personal information, employee education, supervision of subcontractors and the strengthening technological security.

However, in the event an information leak occurs despite these security measures, our credibility and corporate image may be significantly damaged and we may experience an increase in cancellation of subscriber contracts, an increase in indemnity costs and slower increase in additional subscriptions, and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Owners of intellectual property rights that are essential for our business execution may not grant us a license or other use of such intellectual property rights, which may result in our inability to offer certain technologies, products and/or services, and our corporate group may also be held liable for damage compensation if we infringe the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, the illicit use by a third party of the intellectual property rights owned by our corporate group could reduce our license revenues actually obtained and may inhibit our competitive superiority.

For us and our business partners to carry out our business, it is necessary to obtain licenses and other rights to use the intellectual property rights of third parties. Currently, we are obtaining licenses from the holders of the rights concerned by concluding license agreements. We will obtain the licenses from the holders of the rights concerned if others have the rights to intellectual property necessary for us to operate our business in the future.

However, if we cannot come to an agreement with the holders of the rights concerned or a mutual agreement concerning the granted rights cannot be maintained afterwards, there is a possibility that we or our business partners might not be able to provide our specific technologies, products or services. Also, if we receive claims of violation of intellectual property rights from others, we may be required to expend considerable time and expense to reach a resolution. If such claims are acknowledged, we may be liable to pay damages for infringement of the rights concerned, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, the illicit use by a third party of the intellectual property rights owned by our corporate group could reduce our license revenues actually obtained and may inhibit our competitive superiority.

Events and incidents caused by natural disasters, social infrastructure paralysis such as power shortages, the proliferation of harmful substances, terror or other destructive acts, the malfunctioning of equipment, software bugs, deliberate incidents induced by computer viruses, cyberattacks, equipment misconfiguration, hacking, unauthorized access and other problems could cause failure in our networks, distribution channels, and/or other factors necessary for the provision of service, disrupting our ability to offer services to our subscribers, and such incidents may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image, or lead to a reduction of revenues and/or increase of costs.

We have built a nationwide network, including base stations, antennas, switching centers and transmission lines, and provide mobile communication service using this network. In order to operate our network systems in a safe and stable manner, we have various measures in place, such as duplicative systems. However, despite these measures, our system could fail for various reasons, including malfunctioning of system hardware and software, natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and floods, paralysis of social infrastructure, such as power shortages, terrorism, and similar events and incidents, and the inability to sufficiently operate and maintain network facilities due to, for example, the proliferation of harmful substances or the spread of an epidemic. These system failures can require an extended time for repair and, as a result, may lead to decreased revenues and significant cost burdens, and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

There have been instances in which tens of millions of computers worldwide were infected by viruses through fixed line Internet connections. As smartphones become more widespread, however, a growing number of viruses are also targeting mobile handsets. Similar incidents could occur on our networks, handsets, or other equipment. If such a virus entered our network or handsets or other equipment through such means as hacking, unauthorized access, or otherwise, or if there was a cyber -attack, our system could fail, the services we provide could become unusable service quality could be impacted and/or confidential information could be leaked. In such an instance, the credibility of our network, handsets and other equipment and customer satisfaction could decrease significantly. Although we have enhanced security measures including systems to block unauthorized access, remote downloading for mobile phones, and the provision of “Anshin Net Security,” an antivirus solution for smartphones in order to provide for unexpected events, such precautions may not make our system fully prepared for every contingency. Moreover, software bugs, incorrect equipment settings, and human errors that are not the result of malfeasance could also result in system failures, diminished service quality, or leaks of confidential information.

In addition, events or incidents caused by natural disasters, social infrastructure paralysis, the proliferation of harmful substances, the spread of an epidemic, or any other event could force our offices or critical business partners, including sales agencies, to suffer constraints on business operations or to temporarily close their offices or stores. In such a case, we would lose the opportunity to sell or provide goods and services and also may not be able to respond appropriately to subscription applications and requests from subscribers, such asafter-sales service requests.

If we are unable to properly respond to any such events, our credibility or corporate image may decrease, and we may experience a decrease in revenues as well as significant cost burdens, and if market growth slows or

the market shrinks due to any such event, ARPU may decrease below our forecast, or we may not be able to gain new subscriptions or maintain the existing number of subscriptions at the level we expect. All of these factors may affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Concerns about adverse health effects arising from wireless telecommunications may spread and consequently adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Through various media sources and the internet, information has been disseminated indicating that there is concern about whether radio wave emissions from mobile handsets and other wireless telecommunications devices may adversely affect people’s health or may interfere with electronic medical devices including hearing aids and cardiac pacemakers. Such concerns about the possible risks associated with wireless telecommunication devices could adversely affect our corporate image, financial condition, and results of operations through increased cancellations by existing cellular subscribers, reduced subscriber growth, reduced usage per subscriber, and the introduction of new regulations or restrictions or litigation. The radio emissions from our cellular handsets and base stations comply with the electromagnetic safety guidelines established by the Japanese government, which are equivalent to the international guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, which are endorsed by the World Health Organization “WHO.” The WHO has also stated that if the level of the radio emissions from mobile devices is lower than the international guidelines, it will not affect the health of their users and others. Research and studies on the effect of radio wave emissions on people’s health are being conducted by foreign research institutes such as the WHO and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication,Communications, or the MIC. While no evidence of an adverse effect on people’s health has been found as of yet, there can be no assurance that, going forward a link between radio wave emissions and health problems will not be identified in the results of future research or studies.

Furthermore, MIC and the Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference Japan have confirmed that electronic medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers can be affected by electromagnetic interference from cellular phones and other wireless equipment, and has created guidelines on safe usage to provide information to the general public. We are working to provide information to ensure that our subscribers are sufficiently aware of these precautions when using cellular phones. There is a possibility that modifications to regulations and new regulations or restrictions could limit our ability to expand our market or our subscription base or otherwise adversely affect us.

Our parent company, NTT, could exercise influence that may not be in the interests of our other shareholders.

As of March 31, 2015,2016, NTT owned 66.65%65.66% of our outstanding voting shares. While being subject to the conditions for fair competition established by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (currently the MIC) in April 1992, NTT retains the right to control our management as a majority shareholder, including the right to appoint directors. Currently, although we conduct our day-to-day operations independently of NTT and its other subsidiaries, certain important matters are discussed with, or reported to, NTT. As such, NTT could take actions that are in its best interests but may not be in the interests of our other shareholders.

Risks Relating to the Shares and the ADSs

Future sales of our shares by NTT or by us may adversely affect the trading price of our shares and ADSs.

As of March 31, 2015,2016, NTT owned 66.65%65.66% of our outstanding voting shares. Under Japanese law, NTT, like any other shareholder, generally is able to dispose of our shares freely on the Tokyo Stock Exchange or otherwise. Additionally, our Board of Directors is authorized to issue 13,374,228,00013,501,457,000 additional shares generally without any shareholder approval. The sale or issuance or the potential for sale or issuance of such shares could have an adverse impact on the market price of our shares.

There are restrictions on your ability to withdraw shares from the depositary receipt facility.

Each ADS represents the right to receive one share of common stock. Therefore, pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement with our depositary, The Bank of New York Mellon, in order to withdraw any shares, a holder

of ADSs must surrender for cancellation and withdrawal of shares using ADRs (each of which evidences 1ADSs). As a result, holders of ADSs will be unable to withdraw fractions of shares from the depositary or receive any cash settlement in lieu of withdrawal of fractions of shares. In addition, although the ADSs themselves may be transferred in any lots pursuant to the deposit agreement, the ability to trade the underlying shares may be limited.

Holders of ADRs have fewer rights than shareholders and have to act through the depositary to exercise those rights.

Holders of ADRs do not have the same rights as shareholders and accordingly cannot exercise rights of shareholders against us. The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, through its custodian agent, is the registered shareholder of the deposited shares underlying the ADSs, and therefore only it can exercise the rights of shareholders in connection with the deposited shares. In certain cases, we may not ask The Bank of New York Mellon to ask holders of ADSs for instructions as to how they wish their shares voted. Even if we ask The Bank of New York Mellon to ask holders of ADSs for such instructions, it may not be possible for The Bank of New York Mellon to obtain these instructions from ADS holders in time for The Bank of New York Mellon to vote in accordance with such instructions. The Bank of New York Mellon is only obliged to try, as far as practical, and subject to Japanese law and our Articles of Incorporation, to vote or have its agents vote the deposited shares as holders of ADSs instruct. In your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to bring a derivative action, examine the accounting books and records of the Company, or exercise appraisal rights.

U.S. investors may have difficulty in serving process or enforcing a judgment against us or our members of the board of directors, executive officers or audit & supervisory board members.

We are a limited liability, joint stock corporation incorporated under the laws of Japan. Most of our members of the board of directors, executive officers and audit & supervisory board members reside in Japan. All or substantially all of our assets and the assets of these persons are located in Japan and elsewhere outside the United States. It may not be possible, therefore, for U.S. investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce against us or these persons judgments obtained in U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the Federal securities laws of the United States. There is doubt as to the enforceability in Japan, in original actions or in actions for enforcement of judgment of U.S. courts, of liabilities predicated solely upon the federal securities laws of the United States.

Rights of shareholders under Japanese law may be different from rights of shareholders in jurisdictions within the United States.

Our Articles of Incorporation, Regulations of the Board of Directors and the Companies Act of Japan (Kaishaho,, or Companies Act) govern our corporate affairs. Legal principles relating to such matters as the validity of corporate procedures, directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties and liabilities, and shareholders’ rights under Japanese law may be different from those that would apply to a company incorporated in a jurisdiction

within the United States. You may have more difficulty in asserting your rights as a shareholder than you would as a shareholder of a corporation organized in a jurisdiction within the United States.

We expect voluntarily to delist our ADSs from the NYSE and we plan to effect deregistration and termination of our on-going reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On April 28, 2016, we announced that our Board of Directors resolved to apply for voluntary delisting of our ADSs from the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) around March 2018. In connection with the delisting, we intend to file for the termination of registration of our ADSs and of our on-going reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in around March 2018. After the delisting of our ADSs from the NYSE, we intend to maintain our ADR Program in the U.S. and therefore anticipate that our ADSs will continue to be traded in the U.S. on the over-the-counter market. The market for our ADSs may be significantly less liquid following our delisting of our ADSs from the NYSE.

Furthermore, while we currently prepare and disclose our financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company is considering preparing and disclosing its financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) beginning with the three months ending June 30, 2018.

Our shareholders of record on a record date may not receive the dividend they anticipate.

The customary dividend payout practice and relevant regulatory regime of publicly listed companies in Japan may differ from that followed in foreign markets. While we may announce forecasts of year-end and interim dividends prior to the record date, these forecasts are not legally binding. The actual payment of year-end dividends requires a resolution of our shareholders. If the shareholders adopt such a resolution, the year-end dividend payment is made to shareholders as of the applicable record date, which is currently specified as March 31 by our Articles of Incorporation. However, such a resolution of our shareholders is usually made at an ordinary general meeting of shareholders held in June. The payment of interim dividends requires a resolution of our Board of Directors. If the board adopts such a resolution, the dividend payment is made to shareholders as of the applicable record date, which is currently specified as September 30 by our Articles of Incorporation. However, the board usually does not adopt a resolution with respect to an interim dividend until September 30.

Shareholders of record as of an applicable record date may sell shares after the record date in anticipation of receiving a certain dividend payment based on the previously announced forecasts. However, since these forecasts are not legally binding and resolutions to pay dividends are usually not adopted until after the record date, our shareholders of record on record dates for year-end or interim dividends may not receive the dividend they anticipate.

Item 4. Information on the Company

We are a joint stock corporation organized under the Companies Act. We were incorporated and registered in August 1991 under the name of NTT Mobile Communications Planning Co., Ltd., and, in April 1992, we were renamed NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. We changed our name to NTT DoCoMo, Inc. on April 1, 2000 (NTT DOCOMO, INC. since June 2010). Our corporate head office is at Sanno Park Tower,11-1, Nagata-cho2-chome,Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo100-6150, Japan. Our telephone number is81-3-5156-1111. We have no agent in the United States in connection with this annual report.

Our parent company is NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION (“NTT”), the holding company of NTT group. NTT group is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. We were incorporated as a subsidiary of NTT in August 1991 and took over NTT’s wireless telecommunication operations in July 1992. In July 1993, in accordance with the agreement between NTT and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (currently the MIC), we transferred wireless telecommunication operations (other than those in theKanto-Koshinetsu region, which remained with us) to our 8eight regional subsidiaries. However, the other 8eight regional subsidiaries were merged into our company as the surviving company in July 2008.

For a discussion of recent and current capital expenditures, please see “B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Capital Expenditures” in Item 5.

In addition, for a discussion of our decision to apply for voluntary delisting of our ADSs from the NYSE around March 2018, please see “A. Offer and Listing Details—Price Ranges of Shares” in Item 9.

1. Business Overview

We are aprimarily engage in mobile telecommunications carrier belonging toservices as a member of the NTT group, for which NTT serves as the holding company. We currently provide mobile telephone services over our LTE and W-CDMA networks. We have approximately 66,595 thousand subscribers and a domestic market share^* of 43.6%.

Together with our 173124 subsidiaries and 3127 affiliates, we conduct business as the NTT DOCOMO group. Our major subsidiaries and affiliates as of March 31, 20152016 are listed below.

Name		Percentage Voting Interest
Sumitomo Mitsui CardVMG Media Joint Stock Company Limited.			34.0%
Tata Teleservices Limited *3			26.5%24.5%
ZENRIN DataCom Co., Ltd.			18.1%
and other affiliates

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, we realigned our five operating segments—which consisted of a mobile phone business, credit services business, home shopping services business, internet connection services business for hotel facilities, and miscellaneous businesses—into three operating segments, which consist ofThe Company engages in telecommunications, business, smart life business and other businesses in order to clearly definebusinesses. For more information regarding our business management of telecommunications domains, where we are taking steps to reinforce our competitiveness, and the smart life domains where we are striving for further expansion of revenue sources by making “Smart Life” a reality toward the establishment of a new path to grow.

The telecommunications business includes those from mobile phone services (LTE (Xi) services and FOMA services), optical-fiber broadband service, satellite mobile communications services, international services and equipment sales related to these services. Combined, this accounted for the greater part of our operating revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.

The smart life business includes video and music distribution, electronic books and other services offered through DOCOMO’s “dmarket” portal, as well as finance/payment services, shopping services and various other services to support our customers’ daily lives.

The other businesses primarily includes “Mobile Device Protection Service,” as well as the development, sale and maintenance of IT systems.segments, please see “B.4. Services” in Item 4.

We operate our business mainly in Japan, and do not generally experience significant seasonality.

Breakdown of Operating Revenues

For more details of our business segment information, please see “A. Operating Results—Segment Information” in Item 5.

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Competitive Environment

In the JapaneseThe environment for Japan’s mobile communications market in additionis significantly changing due to the rapid proliferation and expansion in usepenetration of smartphones, smartphones/tablets and other function-rich mobile devices, due to government policies to promote competition in areas such as the government’s policynew entry of promotingMVNOs, the mandatory unlocking of SIM cards and the MIC’s proposal of the spread“Task Force on Review of Services form Users’ View Point” and the “Task Force on Mobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNOs”)Phone Rates and other factors, various new market participants are expected to continue to enter the market and many new services are expected to continue to be invented.Conditions.”

There are presently three mobile network operators in Japan: DOCOMO, KDDI CORPORATION and its subsidiaries (“KDDI group”) and SoftBank Corp. and its subsidiaries (“SOFTBANK group”). As of March 31, 2015,2016, we had a market share of 43.6%45.3%, KDDI group had a market share of 28.5%29.3% and SOFTBANK group had a market share of 27.9%25.3%.

As of March 31, 20152016 we had approximately 66,59570,964 thousand cellular subscribers, an increase of 3,490approximately 4,368 thousand from the end of the previous fiscal year. Also, our cellular churn rate for March 20152016 was 0.71%0.62%.

Although future growth of new subscribers for conventional voice use is expected to be limited as the penetration rate rises and the population declines, in recent years, the development of new markets for products such as demand for second devices such as tablets and mobile Wi-Fi routers, in addition to embedded communication modules, and rising numbers of subscribers due to an increase in corporate subscriptions, have helped drive growth in new subscriptions.

The number of cellular subscriptions for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 20152016 are as follows:

*active1 The calculation method of churn rate has been changed from the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Accordingly, the churn rates for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 and 2015 have also been changed. Data are calculated excluding the subscriptions and cancelation of subscriptions of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).

*2 Active cellular subscriptions = (number of subscriptions at the end of previous month + number of subscriptions at the end of current month) / 2

Furthermore Japan’s telecommunications sector has seen a dramatic change in itsthe fixed-line communications market, structure.

In May 2014, NTT unveiled its “Hikari Collaboration Model”—Model,” which is a new wholesale business model for its fiber access services. As this enablesthat commenced in February 2015, has enabled telecommunications operators and a wide range of other market participantsplayers to provide services utilizing optical fiber, connections, theand competition in the market is expected to intensify even further, transcending the traditional boundaries of the telecommunications business.fixed-line communications market has further intensified.

Due to government regulations, we are prohibited from partnering exclusively within the NTT group, and we have been unable to partner with NTT group companies to provide packages of mobile phone and fixed communication services or offer discount services such as those which have become popular among rival companies in recent years.

Meanwhile, by accepting the wholesaling of fiber access services provided by NTT East and NTT West, it has become possible to provide optical-fiber broadband service ourselves from March 2015, we launched the “docomo Hikari” service (DOCOMO’s optical-fiber broadband service) and “docomo Hikari Pack,” making the first step in our journey for offering new added value through the convergence of fixed-line and mobile communications services.

Since the start of the service in March 2015, “docomo Hikari” has enjoyed positive reviews from many customers and the total number of subscriptions exceeded 1.0 million in December 2015. Moreover, the total number of subscription applications extended 1.84 million and the total number of subscriptions to “docomo Hikari” reached 1.57 million at the end of March 2016.

In response to these changes in the market environment, we have launched “+d” value co-creation initiatives, aiming to deliver new values by making available the business assets that we have accumulated through our operations, such as our payment platform and loyalty program, to a large number of external partners. As part of this endeavor, we have rebranded the former “docomo Point” program into “d POINT” to offer a point service that is highly convenient and useful for our customers with the aim of expanding the structure of the “+d” activities.

Although our business environment is severe, as stated above, due to the market environment, regulationschanges day-to-day and changes in our business model,moment-to-moment, we are endeavoring to strengthen our competitiveness based on the business strategy described below.

We developed our corporate vision for 2020^*1, “HEART: Pursuing Smart Innovation” to propel further growth and propose new values to society in anticipation of future social changes.

Also, under the banner of becoming a “Partner“Smart Life Partner” for smart life” of our customers, we tackled the challenge of “reinforcing our competitiveness in telecommunications business” and “stepped up our efforts in the smart life business and other businesses.”

In April 28, 2015, we announced our medium-term initiatives and the Business Management Policies for FY2015 (year ending March 31, 2016).

Initiatives forto be Implemented over the medium-termMedium Term

ToIn order to respond to customerour customers’ needs on an ongoing basis, by further evolving our relationships with various external partners through open collaboration, we will implement initiatives for “co-creation”—an effortcontinue to create new added value by moving forward with our “+d” initiatives.

Specifically, we, together with various externalour partners, by constantly evolving the format of collaboration.

As presentedwill roll out initiatives in “Medium-Term Vision 2015,” we have hitherto worked onorder to co-create new added value, creation centered on mobile communications by pursuing convergence with other industries and services. Going forward, we will further advance these undertakings and embark on a new initiative dubbed “+d”—a joint value creation initiative that we plan to promote together with partners, making available to our partners our own business assets, such as “d CARD,” our payment platform and “d POINT,” point program, etc. To further accelerate this initiative,program. Through these endeavors, we will standardize the names of the various services thataim to deliver “more benefits, more fun and more convenience” to our customers in tandem with our partners.

In addition to creating value for our customers, we offer. In the new arrangement, our services will begin with the letter “d,” so customers can easily appreciate the various DOCOMO services that they can utilize.

We will also workstrive to offer new valuesvalue to various partners, further evolving the forms of collaboration, which have so far been centered on value creation for consumers. Specifically,our partners. Particularly, in the areas of “IoT^*2,” “Regional Revitalization,” “2020*,“2020,” and “Solution of Social Issues,” we will strive to createmove forward with the “co-creation of social values,” creating new services and businesses in collaboration with our partners and utilizing the assets of both parties, with the goal of capturing new revenue opportunities in new domainsbusiness fields that transcend the confines of our current industries or business formats.

Through the abovementioned initiatives, we will aim to expand the smart life business and other businesses while accommodating customer requirements.

*2	Abbreviation for Internet of Things. A concept that describes a world in which everything is connected to the Internet, enabling remote control and management of devices, etc.

FY2015 Business Management PoliciesFY2016 Priority Initiatives

We developed our FY2015 Business Management Policies, positioning FY2015Positioning FY2016 as the year of making a solid stepin which we intend to make “a vibrant leap toward the achievement of our medium-term growth. Considering the attainment of operatingfurther growth” beyond income target a matter of utmost importance,recovery, we will take actions aimed at increasingwork concurrently on expanding our telecommunications services revenues, expandingbusiness and reinforcing our smart life business and other businesses.

In FY2016, we expect a full-scale reexamination of handset prices and tariffs throughout the mobile industry. In light of these expected changes, we will reinforce our focus on families and strengthen our ability to propose comprehensive offerings comprising mobile phones, optical-fiber and other services. In this way, we plan to take the lead in changing the field of competition in the mobile industry.

As part of this endeavor, in March 2016 we introduced new billing plan offerings for light-usage customers, consisting of the new data package “Share Pack 5,” enabling families to share 5MB of data, and the expansion of the applicability of the “Kake-hodai Light” voice plan to lower volume data packages. In addition, starting June 2016, we will launch new offerings for long-term users consisting of two new rate options allowing customers to choose subscriptions with or without cancellation fees, increased discounts in the “Zutto DOCOMO Wari” scheme and the addition of reward points for customers renewing their subscriptions.

We will aim to secure income from telecommunications business through an ARPU increase resulting from expanded adoption of the new billing plan and on-going cost efficiency improvement efforts.

With respect to our smart life business and other businesses, we will work to grow our subscriptions by further enriching the services and improvingcontent offered on our cost efficiency.

“dmarket” marketplace, such as “dTV,” “dhits” and “dmagazine.” We will continuealso step up the “+d” initiatives that we pursue together

with our partners for new value creation by combining our finance/payment platforms, point program and other business assets that we have accumulated in our operations with those assets of our partners. We will also work to engage ourselves in co-creationenhance the attractiveness of added value for customers in collaboration withour “d POINT” loyalty point program by increasing the number of participating partners so that what is perceived as new today can be taken for granted inand accelerate the future.adoption of “d ACCOUNT.”

2. Networks

We currently provide our services mainly on LTE and W-CDMA networks.

In December 2010, we launched LTE service for data communications devices. In November 2011, we expanded the service to smartphones. We continue our efforts to take advantage of our experience and expertise as a LTE service pioneer to build a robust network pursuing “breadth,“convenience,” “speed”“peace” and “convenience.“safety.” We are endeavoring to provide a high quality communications environment offering faster speeds and broader reach in future.

InTo offer a more convenient network service to our customers, we have expanded the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, the total numbercoverage of LTE base stations was increasedour “PREMIUM 4G*” to 97,400 stations from 55,300 stations976 cities across Japan as of March 31, 20142016. Meanwhile, we also started offering a maximum downlink speed of 300Mbps in selected areas from October 2015.

In addition, we conducted surveys of effective data speeds adhering to further improve the area coverage“Guidelines for the Effective Speed Measurement Method of Internet Connection Services Provided by Mobile Telecommunications Carriers and Information Providing Method, etc. for Users” defined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The results indicated that we offer both high download speeds and high upload speeds (the median (Android + iOS) of our LTE service.

We offer high-speed LTE servicedownload speeds is 71Mbps and that realizes a maximum download speed of 150Mbps in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka metropolitan areas. Also, in pursuit of further enhancement of transmissionour upload speeds we increased the number of LTE base stations compatible with a maximum download speed of 100Mbps or higher to 57,700 stations from 3,500 stations as of March 31, 2014.

In March 2015, we launched the “PREMIUM 4G” service that delivers downlink speeds of up to 225Mbps using the LTE-Advanced system, which incorporates “carrier aggregation ^*1,” “advanced C-RAN ^*2” and other technologies that realize further speed/capacity enhancements over LTE service.is 21Mbps).

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Spectrum Use Status

The MIC has allocated a total bandwidth of approximately 530MHz as radio frequencies available for use for LTE/W-CDMA networks (3.5GHz, 2GHz, 1.7GHz, 1.5GHz, 900MHz, 800MHz, 700MHz and 2GHzTDD). Of this, we have been allocated 6 frequency bands—3.5GHz, 2GHz, 1.7GHz, 1.5GHz, 800MHz and 700MHz—to operate our networks.

2GHz Band:

The 20MHz x 2 allocated in the 2GHz band is jointly used by our LTE and W-CDMA networks. A maximum 15MHz20MHz x 2 is used for our LTE network.

1.7GHx Band:

The 20MHz x 2 allocated in the 1.7GHz band is jointly used by our LTE and W-CDMA networks in the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai areas. We also intend to expand use for the LTE network in the future.

1.5GHz Band:

The 15MHz x 2 allocated in the 1.5GHz band is used by our LTE network.

800MHz Band:

The 15MHz x 2 allocated in the 800MHz band is jointly used by our LTE and W-CDMA networks. The maximum 15MHz x 2 is used for our LTE network.

700MHz Band:

With regard to our plan to open specified base stations to be used for the 700MHz band, approval was received from the Minister of MIC in June 2012. In addition, the Association of 700MHz Frequency Promotion was established by 4 operators (NTT DOCOMO, Inc., KDDI Corporation, eAccess Ltd. (currently SoftBank Mobile Corp.) and Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company) that were approved at the same

time. Together with the appropriate transfer of new frequency bands to existing licensees currently using the frequencies, receiver measures for overland digital TV broadcasts are being implemented. We plan to start providing LTE services as of the first quarter of fiscal yearSince May 2015, forwe have been using the 10MHz x 2 allocated in the 700MHz band.band for LTE services.

3.5GHz Band:

With regard to our plan to open specified base stations to be used for the 3.5GHz band, approval was received from the Minister of MIC in December 2014. We intend to commence the provision of TDD-format LTE services in the 40MHz (TDD) block allocated in the 3.5GHz band from OctoberJune 2016.

For providingTo provide customers with a more stable and comfortableconvenient communication environment, we reinforce our network platform to respond to increases in data traffic due to smartphone use resulting from the provision of richer content and new services. For example, we expanded network capacity, mainly the ”PREMIUM 4G” which utilizes the frequency band efficiently, as we enhanced the communication network facilities.

In March 2016, we commenced the operation of a commercial network utilizing virtualization techniques. The employment of equipment using these techniques from March 2016 allowed us to offer higher quality network services to our customers. The techniques realized better connectivity in cases of network congestion and higher reliability in the event of the failure of facilities.

In addition, with the aim of reinforcing our communication capacity in densely populated areas duringwide-area disasters or power outages, we moved ahead with the reinforcementconversion of our network facilitieslarge-zone base stations to respondmake them compatible with LTE in order to increase the increase in data traffic resulting from the expanded adoption of smartphones. For example, we expanded the LTE networkcommunication capacity utilized transmission speed controls for data communication by especially heavy users for data communications and offloaded data to “docomo Wi-Fi.”

In addition, to prepare for possible large-scale disasters, such as an earthquake directly striking the Tokyo metropolitan area,approximately three fold. Furthermore, we have taken various measures such as the dispersion of importantrolled out medium-zone base stations across Japan to secure communications facilities previously concentrated in the metropolitan area, securing emergency power sources,centers of coastal and making it possible to switch to power saving mode via remote control.mountainous areas.

Furthermore, in order to establish and maintain our high-quality network economically and efficiently, we provide fair competitive opportunities, foster mutual understanding and build trusting relationships with suppliers, and purchase high-quality network equipment at low cost from suppliers inside and outside Japan in accordance with our procurement policies, which emphasize compliance with CSR and various laws.

3. Products

We purchase products from vendors and then sell them to mainly our sales agency who sell these products to our subscribers.

To expand our smartphone user base and to facilitate the adoption of multiple devices by a single user in order to meet the diverse needs of customers, we have strived to enrich our product lineup. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015,2016, we introduced 1718 smartphone models, 9four tablet models, 8three feature phone models and 3one data communication device models,model, and sold approximately 23,751 thousand26.05 million units. Sales of each type of device are discussed below.

Our 2014For the 2015 summer collectioncollections, we are the first in the world to release a smartphone equipped with—as well as other biometric functions, including fingerprint recognition—an iris recognition authentication system. In this way, we made efforts to offer customers simpler authentication methods than entering a password for various services that DOCOMO offers. For the 2015-2016 winter/spring collections, we launched the sales of smartphones are equippedfeaturing “PREMIUM 4G” and 4K-supported displays, allowing customers to enjoy photos and videos with various DOCOMO-specific features including voice calls using “VoLTE^*1” technology and an emergency power-saving mode. The Android smartphones in our 2014-2015 winter/spring collection are all equipped with “VoLTE” compatibility. All handset models carry “high-resolution audio^*2” featuring sound quality exceeding music CDs.higher resolution. In addition, we expanded the lineup of devices to meet the diverse needs of customers, including commencement of sales of the latest modelmodels of the popular iPhone and iPad in September and October 2014 respectively.iPad.

As a result of the above, the number of smartphones and tablets sold was 14.615.44 million units, an increase of 0.810.84 million units over the number sold last term, reaching approximately 60% of total sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.2016.

We offer a wide range of data communication devices for selection, depending on usage, including mobile Wi-Fi routers, USB data cards, and the like.

We introduced a USB data cardone mobile Wi-Fi router as a part of our 2014 summer collection and also introduced two mobileWi-Fi routers, as a part of our 2014-20152015-2016 winter/spring collection, that have built-in LTE AdvancedLTE-Advanced capability, a technology that supports download speeds of up to 225 Mbps.300Mbps.

In addition, our communication modules can be used in various situations in everyday life and business situations, such as for managing taxi and bus operations, monitoring and controlling power and gas facility devices, distributing contents to information posting systems, managing inventory for vending machines and managing payment with mobile devices.

For the 2015 summer collections, in addition to the previous feature phones, we launched two feature phone models equipped with Android OS, and for the 2015-2016 winter/spring collections, we launched one feature phone model equipped with the (non-Android OS and non-iOS) OS that we have traditionally used on our feature phones. As a “Partnerpartner for a Smart Life”smart life for each and every customer, we offer a diverse range of communications devices to make customers’ lives more secure, safe, convenient and comfortable.

In December 2014, we launched a transmitter able to send the user’s heart rate to a smartphone by linking with a wearable training data measurement device utilizing a new material called “hitoe.”

In addition, in April 2015, we released the “Docotch,” a wearable device in the form of a wristwatch, enabling the condition of children and their surroundings to be checked. We have also released special devices for pets, etc.

4. Services

By providing superior sound quality voicehigh-speed communication services through “VoLTE”“PREMIUM 4G” and introducing the “docomo Hikari” optical-fiberoptical broadband service, we are endeavoringhave made efforts to further increaseprovide a comfortable environment for telecommunications, allowing our customers to enjoy the breadth, speed, and convenience of communicationour networks. Furthermore, in our smart life business and other businesses, in addition to growing our services, and create valuesuch as “dmarket,” for providing various content, we are also developing new value-added services through the provision of new services combining “docomo Hikari”“+d” initiatives founded on co-creation with smartphones and mobile phones. We also enriched our “dmarket” portal that offers a wide variety of convenient content, and pursued collaboration and alliances withvarious external partners to provide new services in various sectors.partners.

Mobile PhoneCommunications Services

We currently offer voice, data, and other value-added services through our LTE (Xi) and FOMA services.

As a result of our efforts to improve the contents and services we offer for smartphones as well as expand the smartphone market, our LTE (Xi) service subscriptions rose to approximately 30,744 thousand38.68 million as of March 31, 2015.2016.

In addition, other main services among mobile phone services include international services such as international calling service and international roaming service, public wireless LAN service “docomo Wi-Fi,” services for corporate customers such as “Office Link,” a service that allows mobile phones to be used as internal lines, “Business Mopera Anshin Manager,” which enables the unified control of corporate mobile phones, and a satellite cell phone service. A summary of the principal initiatives in other main services among mobile phone services implemented during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, is provided below:

Optical-fiber Broadband Service

In order to provide a broadband communications environment to allow users to enjoy high-speed service both indoors and outdoors, in March 2015, we commenced “docomo Hikari” service—service, our optical-fiber broadband

service that enables high-speed access at speeds of up to 1Gbps, and simultaneously launched “docomo Hikari Pack”—Pack,” a bundle package that allows users to use “docomo Hikari” broadband service and smartphones/docomo feature phones at affordable rates.

We provide one-stop service for the full range of services including optical-fiber broadband, Internet access and mobile phone services. Hence, we serve as a customer’s single point of contact for every need, from service-related inquiries to after-sales support, thereby enhancing customers’ convenience and comfort using high-speed communications services.

Furthermore, with the provision of “docomo Hikari,” we also began to provide Internet access service “docomo net,” and support services “Hikari Remote Support,” “Hikari On-site Support” which enables “docomo Hikari” to be used with a greater sense of security.

For more information, see Item 4.B-5 “Tariffs,”“B. 5. Tariffs” in Item4, which contains the details of charges for “docomo Hikari” and “docomo Hikari Pack.”

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Initiatives to Become a “Partner for Smart Life”Life Business

Our smart life business, business segment offers services through our “dmarket” portal, such as the distribution of, for example, video, music, and electronic books, finance/payment services, online shopping service and other life support services.

Initiatives Aimed atMedia/Contents Services, “dmarket” Enrichment and Expansion of User Base

To expand the adoption of a DOCOMO-operated content market, “dmarket”“dmarket,” services among a broader range of users, we have addedstrived to add new services and enrich the content and implemented various initiatives aimed at increasing its subscriber base.

The principal actions we undertook during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 are summarized below:

As a result of the abovementioned measures, the combined number of “dmarket” store subscriptions* reached 10 million in January 2015, and grew further to 11.8815.54 million as of March 31, 2015. Furthermore, in May 2015, we launched “dGourmet” service, which provides basic cooking lessons, food-related information such as recipes and restaurant rankings, and coupons.2016.

Lineup of “dmarket” services

*1	Service startedThis service will end on MayJune 28, 2015.2016.

*2	Games that can be enjoyed anywhere with an Internet connection and without the need to install applications.

*3	Service name was changed from “dvideo” to “dTV” on April 22, 2015.

To deliver “Smart Life” experience, we aim to drive innovation and create new value and new markets through the convergence of mobile devices with various industries and services by collaborating with alliance partners, especially in fields that offer great synergy with our mobile business, including “dmarket.” In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, we engaged in the following initiatives centered on lifestyle-related services.

The actions we have undertaken in our principal business fields are as follows:

Finance/Payment Services

We are developing finance and payment businesses, utilizing the unique properties of mobile communications and credit functionality.

As principal initiatives, working in collaboration with affiliate Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd., we operate the credit brand “iD” that uses a contactless chip embedded in mobile phones/credit card. Furthermore, we also provide “DCMX mini,” payment service for mobile phones “iD” users, and “DCMX,” credit card payment service that operates on the “iD” platform.

During the current fiscal year, we have started to offer “d POINT” in an expansion of our existing “docomo Point” service and we have also launched the “d POINT CARD,” which allows users to earn and use “d POINTs” just by showing the card when shopping at our partner stores. In conjunction with this, both “DCMX” and “DCMX mini” have been rebranded as “d CARD” and “d CARD mini,” which can be used to earn “d POINTs” at more advantageous rates.

Shopping Services(Commerce)

In addition to expanding “dmarket,” our subsidiaries are developing shopping services.

Overview of business of major subsidiaries

Services to Support Our Customers’ Daily Lives

We are developing life support business related to medical/healthcare, cuisine and dining, utilizing the unique properties of mobile communications.

Overview of business of major subsidiaries

Furthermore, to deliver “Smart Life” experience in other domain of the three above, we are operating “NOTTV,” Japan’s first broadcasting station for smartphones provided via storage-based broadcasting through our subsidiary mmbi and offer four real-time broadcasting channels (as of March 31, 2015) for interactive programs made up of 24-hour news, etc. and storage type broadcasting by combining broadcasting and communication.

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Other Businesses

Other Initiatives

M2M/IoT Business

We are involved in businesses that installbesides installing communication modules in cars provideand providing information services for car navigation systems, we made efforts to expand our IoT and combinecorporate businesses by combining various types of equipment with mobile communications. A summary of the “M2M^*1” services we implemented during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, is provided below:

The principal actions we have undertaken are as follows:

Global Expansion

We make investments in and form partnerships with overseas mobile operators and various market participants in different business domains with the long-term aim of strengthening our global competitiveness.

In regards to investments in mobile operators, we aim to achieve financial returns by strengthening the business foundations of our investment partners through supporting their businesses and to achieve synergies with our partners. In addition, through investment in various overseas companies in recent years, we have been making efforts to build a global open platform and promote various services that fully take into consideration the special characteristics of countries and regions. Our recent efforts in the application layer are shown below.

Recent Investment in the application layer

5. Tariffs

Our cellular services revenues are generated primarily from fixed basic monthly charges, voice communication charges for outgoing calls (in Japan the caller is usually charged), revenues from incoming calls, charges for data communication services and charges for optional value-added services and features. We set our own rates in accordance with the Telecommunications Business Act and guidelines set by the Japanese government, which currently allow mobile network operators to set their own tariffs without government’s approval.

Currently, monthly charges paid by our cellular subscribers who use our handsets with voice communication subscriptions consist mainly of (i) a basic monthly charge, (ii) voice communication charges (iii) data communication charges, (iv) a mobile ISP charge, and (v) other additional monthly service charges for miscellaneous value-added services. Monthly charges paid by our subscribers who use data communication dedicated plans, including tablets users, consist mainly of (iii) data communication charges, (iv) a mobile ISP charge, and (v) other additional monthly service charges for miscellaneous value-added services.

The details of the charges in connection with items (i) to (iii) are described below.

Since June 2014, we have offered a new billing plan, “Kake-hodai” for the LTE (Xi) service and FOMA service, which enables subscribers to make nationwide voice calls for a flat monthly rate regardless of the number or length of calls. In September 2015, we introduced the “Kake-hodai Light” plan which allows customers to make unlimited domestic voice calls under five minutes at a flat monthly rate.

In addition, we continue to offer existing monthly pay-as-you-go rate plans to FOMA service subscribers, most of which include a certain amount of free communications. The rate differs depending on the plan selected by the customer.

In June 2014, we began to offer a new billing plan for data services called “Pake-aeru,” which enables LTE (Xi) and FOMA customers to share monthly data quotas among the same group of family members or corporate users. By choosing “Pake-aeru” plan that corresponds to the estimated monthly data quantity to be used by a family or the corporate users, the service enables the division of the data usage among multiple contract lines.

The billing plan consists mainly of three plans for single users (2GB, 5GB and 8GB) and four plans for families (10GB, 15GB, 20GB and 30GB).

If the data usage in a month exceeds the monthly data quota, users can pay an additional set fee for each 1GB of data or transmission speed is lowered to 128kbps until the end of that month. In March 2016, we started offering “Share Pack 5,” a package that allows families with limited data usage to share monthly data allowances of 5GB.

On the other hand, our previous LTE (Xi) flat-rate data plans, for which we already ceased to accept a new subscription, have data usage thresholds of 3GB or 7GB. If the data usage in a month exceeds the thresholds, users can pay an additional set fee for each 2GB of data or transmission speed is lowered to 128kbps until the end of that month.

Further Enrichment of New Billing Plan

The new billing plan has enjoyed favorable reviews from early on, with itsand the number of total subscriptions topping 20reached over 30 million in a yearapproximately two years after its launch. To further cater to the diversifying needs of our customers, we rolled out the following new plans from and including the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 to June 2016.

Added options for low-usage customers

We took steps to allow customers to more freely select the combination of a basic monthly plan and a “Share Pack” most suited to their actual voice and data consumption behavior through our launch of “Kake-hodai Light” plan on September 2015, as well as our launch of “Share Pack 5” and expansion of applicability of the “Kake-hodai Light” plan to smaller packages on March 2016.

Choice between two courses

In June 2016, we started to offer two options to customers during the two-month period following the completion of a two-year contract: (i) “Zutto DOCOMO Wari Course,” which offers a reward to customers who sign another two-year contract; and (ii) “Free Course,” a course that, while not be eligible for the rewards mentioned below under “Expand additional advantages to long-term subscribers,” allows customers’ basic monthly charges to remain unchanged and entitles customers to cancel their contracts at any time without incurring fees.

Expand additional advantages to long-term subscribers

With the start of “Zutto DOCOMO Wari Course,” we raised the maximum monthly discounts amount and extended the eligibility of the previous “Zutto DOCOMO Wari” discount, which is offered to customers as a reward for signing up to the “Zutto DOCOMO Wari Course.” Also, we began offering “d POINTs” to customers whenever they renew a two-year contract.

In March 2015, we started an optical-fiber broadband service called “docomo Hikari,” which offers individuals and companies unlimited Internet connections through optical-fiber cables at speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Currently, monthly charges paid by our optical-fiber broadband service subscribers consist mainly of (i) a basic monthly charge for optical-fiber broadband service (ii) monthly ISP charges, and (iii)(ii) other additional monthly service charges for miscellaneous value-added services.

The details of the charges in connection with items (i) and (ii)above are described below.

Two types of billing packages are available—available: ISP Charge-inclusive Package and Standalone Package. ISP Charge-inclusive Package includes Internet connection service of partner ISPs for selection by the subscriber. Customers also can select Standalone Package that only covers the “docomo Hikari,” optical-fiber broadband service, which requires an additional contract with any ISP for Internet access. In each plan, charges differ by residential type—type: either detached house or apartment. Also in March 2016, we launched “docomo Hikari-mini,” a two-tier flat-rate plan offering data speeds of up to 100Mbps, which is a plan for detached houses.

We also introduced a new discount plan, called “docomo Hikari Pack,” which is bundled with existing mobile basic monthly charges, called “Kake-hodai Plan” and “Data Plan,” to provide mobile subscribers and subscribers of “docomo Hikari” with further discounts.

A wide range of discounts based on DOCOMO mobile users’ data quotas will be available, with especially attractive offers for those with higher data quotas.

In addition, we launched the “Hikari Sumaho Wari,” an additional discount offered to smartphones When a family or tablets subscribers to the “Hikari Share Pack” in the “docomo Hikari Pack” in case they are new subscribers or subscribers switching from other carriers with the same number using mobile number portability (MNP). The discount is applied to the mobile basic monthly charge.

Furthermore, “Zutto DOCOMO Wari” discounts for subscribers who have been with DOCOMO for at least five years and “U25 Ouen Wari” discounts for customers up to age 25 can be appliedcompany or organization subscribes to “docomo Hikari Pack”Hikari” for further discounts.two or more lines shared within a group, we also provide various discounts to suit customers’ usage such as “Hikari Fukusu Wari” applicable to each line used from the second line onwards.

6. Sales and Marketing

We sell our products and services through a vast sales network covering the entire country of Japan. The shops that deal with our products and services are operated by various distributors, and as of March 31, 2015,2016, there were 2,3992,395 docomo Shops nationwide. In addition to docomo Shops, there are general distributors that handle the products and services of multiple operators such as mass merchandisers of consumer electronics and other stores that also sell our products. As of March 31, 2015,2016, the number of such shops was approximately 4,3003,800 (excluding docomo Shops). In addition to the face-to-face channel, we have established online shopping and 108 call-centers nationwide (as of March 31, 2015)2016) and consider these channels to be important to improving convenience for our customers. For smartphones and “docomo Hikari,” we have established exclusive call centers and are enhancing the support system for customer care.

We purchase mobile devices from manufacturers and then wholesale these to our sales agents. With the aims of gaining and keeping customers and encouraging the spread of our services through new contracts and handset upgrades, we pay these sales agents commissions that are linked to their sales.

We offer a “Monthly Support” program under which monthly usage charges are discounted by a fixed amount which is established for each device, if a smartphone or tablet is purchased. This is in addition to the discounted price of the device for customers that sign a new contract or when customers migrate from other companies. In addition, besides a lump sum payment of the price of the device, it is possible to make installment payments over 12 months or 24 months. Providing measures that hold down the initial expense or usage charge allows us to expeditiously create an environment in which customers can easily obtain smartphones.

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Customer SupportLoyalty Programs

Customer Loyalty Program

As part of our efforts to provide enhanced customer services, we offer a customer loyalty program called “d POINT CLUB” (formerly “docomo Premier Club.” This reward program consists ofClub”), a point accumulation service, complimentaryprogram that customers including those who do not subscribe to any docomo line can join as individual members. Under this program, customers are able to earn “d POINTs” in several ways. For example, customers are able to earn “d POINTs” by making payments of their monthly charges and for “dmarket” services and after-sales services;or by shopping at our partner stores. The points can be used as a discount, such as for making payments of monthly charges or for shopping at our partner stores. Also, members advance to different levels depending on their monthly mobile phone usage, subscribers earn points, which can be appliedthe number of “d POINTs” accumulated over a six-month period, the period of continuous use of DOCOMO subscription, or whether or not the members subscribe to purchasing handsets, or exchanged for travel tickets, restaurant vouchers, etc.“d CARD,” and receives various benefits depending on the level.

After-sales Support

As described below, weWe have continually worked to strengthen our after-sales support, with the aim of further improving customer satisfaction:

The number of subscribers to “Anshin Remote Support” topped 10 million in February 2015.

7. Research and Development

In our base located in the Yokosuka Research Park, we engage in research and development of basic technology, mobile communication systems and a wide variety of new products and services. As part of our ongoing research and development and in order to continue to improve our devices, networks and services, each of our research and development departments collaborates with product development staff at other operating divisions. We are also working with major manufacturers of our products and network equipment.

In order to address technology innovations overseas, we have established research centers in the United States, Germany and China. Together with DOCOMO Capital, Inc. and DOCOMO Innovations, Inc., we are also aligned with venture companies in North America for the purpose of investing in ventures that develop advanced and innovative technologies that can be applied to mobile communication services.

Furthermore, we also conduct collaborative research with various universities inside and outside Japan. In the collaborative research field, we have been involved in technological exchanges in connection with 4G and 5G mobile communication systems and other advanced research.

The results of our recent development in addition to the development of “VoLTE,” and major technologies used in LTE-Advanced such as “carrier aggregation” and “Advanced C-RAN,” are as follows:

Communications toy

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Technical Developments to be Implemented

8. Regulations

The MIC is the primary regulatory body with responsibility for the telecommunications industry in Japan. We and other mobile telecommunication service providers are regulated by the MIC primarily under the Telecommunications Business Act. We and other mobile telecommunication service providers are also subject to the Radio Act. We, however, are not subject to regulation under the Act on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. etc. (“NTT Act”).

Under the Telecommunications Business Act, we are subject to a registration requirement as telecommunications operators.

The following table summarizes some of the major current regulatory requirements applicable to telecommunications carriers under the Telecommunications Business Act:

The Radio Act was established to promote public welfare by ensuring the equitable and efficient utilization of radio waves. There are certain important provisions of the Radio Act applicable to us and other mobile phone service providers.

The Act states that the MIC must, in order to ensure convenience for those planning to build base station equipment, draw up and make available to the public a list of the frequencies that are available for allocation. Anyone who wishes to build base station equipment must submit an application form to the Minister of MIC together with documents in which required matters are stated, including the purpose of and reason for building base station equipment, the location of the facilities and its frequencies, and acquire a license. The Act also states that any telecommunications carrier who has obtained a license should obtain approval from the Minister of MIC in advance of any operational changes, such as a change in recipients of communications or the location of the facilities, or the intention to start any construction to modify the facilities.

Category II-designated telecommunications facility system

Our telecommunications facilities have been designated as Category II-designated telecommunications facilities. Consequently, in interconnection with other telecommunications carriers, we are obligated to specify in advance fees to be obtained and terms of connection, etc. in the form of articles of agreement, and report these to the Minister of MIC and make them public. No agreements pertaining to the interconnection between Category II-designated telecommunications facilities and other telecommunications carriers may be entered into or amended without complying with those articles of agreement.

By the revision of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business in 2012, the criteria for designating Category II telecommunications facilities were expanded to include those of carriers with a share of more than 10% (formerly 25%), and as a result SOFTBANK MOBILE was designated by the public notice of the MIC as a carrier who installs Category II telecommunications facilities in addition to KDDI and Okinawa Cellular in December 2012. In April 2015, SOFTBANK MOBILE,SoftBank Mobile, Softbank Telecom, Softbank BB and Y! Mobile merged into one entity, called new “Softbank Mobile.which was renamed “SoftBank.” The new “Softbank Mobile”“SoftBank” was designated as a carrier who installs Category II telecommunications facilities, resulting in all MNO^*s currently providing services (excluding Broad band Wireless Access or Personal Handy-phone System operators) being designated as carriers who install Category II telecommunications facilities.

Method of Connection Charges Calculation

Regarding fees charged to the connecting carrier as a result of interconnection (connection charges), we are obligated to charge an amount consisting of appropriate costs plus a reasonable margin and accordingly need to calculate such an amount by the method specified in the “Guideline relating to operation of theCategory II-designated telecommunications facility system” issued by the MIC, and submit the basis of the calculation to the MIC. We are also under an obligation to assemble and make public accounting information about the connection in accordance with the MIC Ordinance. The aforementioned Guideline was amended in March 2014, under which it is recommended to determine a provisional amount for packet connection charges payable by MVNOs by reference to reasonable and provisional amounts in lieu of the connection charges applicable in the previous year for the purpose of the improvement of MVNOs’ cash flows in the case where a substantial decrease in such amount is expected.

In May 2016, the existing “Guideline relating to operation of the Category II-designated telecommunications facility system” was abolished and the “Rules for Category II Designated Telecommunications Facility System” and the “Guidelines regarding the application of the Telecommunications Business Act and the Radio Act to MVNO” (most recent revision in March 2016) was introduced as new legislation providing for the method of calculating connection charges. The method provided for in these ordinances, rules and guidelines follow the current “Guideline relating to operation of the Category II-designated telecommunications facility system,” and therefore any amendment in the new legislation will have little impact on our method of calculating connection charges. Connection charges calculated in accordance with these ordinances, rules and guidelines are expected to apply from fiscal 2016.

Regulations on the Prohibition of Anti-competitive Behavior

We are designated as a telecommunications carrier subject to the prohibition of anti-competitive behavior on the grounds that it is necessary to do so in consideration of the fact that our market share in terms of profits exceeds 25 percent,25%, changes in this market share and other circumstances; and also, for the purpose of ensuring a fair environment of competition with other telecommunications carriers, we are accordingly prohibited from engaging in anti-competitive behavior such as:

In December 2014,Under the Informationrevised Telecommunications Business Act came into force in May 2016 and Communications Council of the MIC issued a report in which the Council concludedrelated ordinances and guidelines, the regulation of previously prohibited activity onactivities in the mobile telecommunicationtelecommunications industry should behas

been relaxed. In response toWith the report, an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act was enacted and promulgated in May 2015. The amendment will become effective from a date to be designated within one year from the promulgation. Once the amendment comes into force, we believe werelaxation of regulations prohibiting unfair discriminatory practices for specific telecommunications operators, it will be ablepossible to collaborate exclusively with specific business partners (excluding somesuch operators (with the exception of ourcertain NTT group companies separately specified by the MIC separately)MIC). In addition, rules prohibiting unfair regulations or interference with other telecommunications operators and manufacturers/distributors of telecommunications equipment have been abolished. This deregulation will allow us to create diverse services through the utilization of information and communications technologiesITC by coordinating with a variety of companies inside and outside Japan, which we expectbelieve will contribute to the improvement of convenience for customers and the improvement of our international and business competitiveness.

Obligation to provide MVNOs with telecommunications services

With a view toward a more dynamic mobile telecommunication market achieved by promoting new entry by MVNOs, the MIC has formulated “Guidelines regarding the application of the Telecommunications Business Act

and the Radio Act to MVNO.” Under the Guidelines, whether wholesale telecommunications services are to be provided by an MNO to an MVNO, or whether there will be an interconnection between an MNO and an MVNO are matters, in principle, to be decided by consultations between the parties, and when an MNO has had a request for connection from an MVNO, unless it has grounds to refuse, it must comply with such request.

Introduction of BodySAR regulations

Bearing in mind the penetration of wireless devices used for purposes other than voice communications, such as smart phones, among others, and the penetration of devices with multiple forms of wireless mechanisms that transmit radio waves at the same time, the MIC introduced a system that provides for expansion of the permissible limit of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which had previously been set mainly for the head area, to include almost the entire body in order to ensure the safety of these devices according to standardized international assessment methods.

9. Relationship with NTT

NTT is our parent company and owned 66.65%65.66% of our voting rights as of March 31, 2015.2016. The government of Japan, in the name of the Minister of Finance, owned 34.91%35.26% of the voting rights of NTT as of the same date. The government of Japan, acting through the MIC, also regulates the activities of NTT.

The NTT group is the largest provider of fixed-line and wireless voice, data, Internet and related telecommunications services in Japan and operates one of the largest telecommunications networks in the world. The NTT group’s main business is providing nationwide telecommunications services including voice communication services, data communication services, leased circuit services, system integration services and other services. As a holding company, NTT is directly responsible for the overall strategy of the NTT group. NTT is also responsible for basic research and development for its group companies.

Although NTT owned 66.65%65.66% of our voting rights as of March 31, 2015,2016, we conduct our day-to-day business operations independently of NTT, its subsidiaries and its other subsidiaries.affiliates. All transactions between us and each of NTT, and its subsidiaries and its affiliates are conducted with fair and appropriate distance. In the year ended March 31, 2015,2016, we had sales of ¥47,129¥46,902 million to NTT, its subsidiaries and its subsidiariesaffiliates and had cost of services, selling, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditures of ¥221,906¥269,720 million, ¥201,829¥172,224 million and ¥59,925¥59,049 million, respectively, to, NTT, its subsidiaries and its other subsidiaries,affiliates compared to sales of ¥43,872¥47,129 million and cost of services, selling, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditures of ¥215,968¥241,706 million, ¥198,288¥204,370 million and ¥75,768¥59,925 million, respectively, in the year ended March 31, 2014.2015. We also had accounts receivable of ¥5,735¥4,330 million from NTT, and its subsidiaries and its affiliates and payables of ¥75,197¥93,679 million to NTT, its subsidiaries and its subsidiariesaffiliates as of March 31, 2015,2016, compared to ¥5,058��¥5,735 million and ¥79,077¥75,197 million as of March 31, 2014.2015.

In order to ensure fair competition in the mobile telecommunication business, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (currently the MIC) in April 1992 established the following conditions of separation on NTT, which was then operating fixed line telephone services, and us, which remain applicable:

At the time of separation from NTT, all trademarks and service marks for our products developed by NTT, other than the “NTT DoCoMo” trademark, the “DoCoMo” trademark and the “NTT DoCoMo” service mark, were assigned to us. If NTT’s ownership of our shares is substantially reduced, we may not be able to continue to use the trademarks and service marks that include “NTT.” Patents, utility model rights and design rights are shared equally with NTT. While certain rights to programs concerning wireless telecommunication systems were assigned by NTT to us, NTT owns the rights to other programs concerning wireless telecommunication systems and grants us licenses to use such rights. Since the separation, NTT and we have each retained rights resulting from our own research and development. When we desire to use NTT’s technology, we are required to pay royalties equal to those other wireless telecommunication companies would pay for the use of such technology, and such technology is available equally to us and our competitors. We are also required to pay NTT certain basic research and development fees.

Although we operate independently of NTT, the following matters, among other things, relating to us are discussed directly with or reported to NTT: matters that are required to be voted on at shareholders’ meetings, including amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, mergers and consolidations, assignments and transfers of business, election and removal of member of the board of directors and audit & supervisory board members, and appropriation of dividends from retained earnings; increases in share capital; investments, including international investments; loans and guarantees; and establishment of businesses plans. In addition, Mr. Takashi Nakamura,Shinichiro Ueno, a full-time employee of NTT, serves part-time on our board of directors.

To date, with respect to the stake in us held by NTT, such documents as the Deregulation Committee 1998 report, the 2000 opinion of the Regulatory Reform Committee, and the government’s “Three-year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform” of 2001 have concluded that, from the perspective of promoting completion among NTT group companies, efforts should be made to further lower the stake. NTT has declared its view that its ownership of our shares does not have any adverse effects on fair competition and that it intends to maintain its ownership stake in us at 51% or above. Further, the Japanese government has not decided what action, if any, it will take with respect to NTT’s ownership of our shares.

NTT has entered into agreements with each of DOCOMO, NTT East and NTT West and certain other subsidiaries that provide for NTT to receive compensation for performing basic research and development and for providing management and administrative services. NTT also receives dividends when dividends are declared by its subsidiaries, including DOCOMO.

For information regarding certain transactions with NTT FINANCE CORPORATION (“CORPORATION(“NTT FINANCE”), in which NTT and its subsidiaries collectively own 99.9%100.0% of the voting interest, see Item 7.B. “Related“B. Related Party Transactions” in Item 7 and Note 15 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—Related Party Transactions.”party transactions” in Note 15.

10. Legal Proceedings

WeWhile we have initiated normalongoing disputes or actions relating to the collection of telecommunications charges and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business, andwe are not currently involved in any

litigation nor have been involved in any litigation and have not been involved indispute or other legal proceedings in the preceding 12 months from the date of this document that, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our financial position or profitability.

C.    Organizational Structure

As of March 31, 2015,2016, NTT, our parent company, was our largest shareholder and owned 66.65%65.66% of our outstanding voting shares. We are the largest wirelessmobile telecommunication services provider in Japan based on the number of subscriptions.

There are no subsidiaries that are considered to be significant as of March 31, 2015.2016.

D.    Property, Plant and Equipment

Our property includes buildings which contain wirelessmobile telecommunication equipment. As of March 31, 2015,2016, we and our regional offices owned 3,741,5583,761,374 square meters of land and 1,702,6681,696,366 square meters of office space, buildings containing switching centers, company dormitories and warehouses throughout Japan. In addition, as of March 31, 2015,2016, we leased 9,573,1019,601,229 square meters of land mainly for base stations and transmission facilities.

We do not, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, operate a coal or other mine subject to the U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow conditions together with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in this annual report.

This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

We will discuss the following matters in this Item 5:

A. Operating Results

B. Liquidity and Capital Resources

C. Research and Development

D. Trend Information

E. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

F. Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations

G. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates, and Recently issued Accounting Standards

A. Operating Results

Overview

We are the largest cellular network operator in Japan with a total subscription of 66.6070.96 million, which represented 43.6%45.3% of all cellular subscriptions in Japan as of March 31, 2015.2016. We earn revenues and generate cash primarily by offering mobile communications services and mobile handset sales. In mobile communications services, which account for the majority of our revenues, we provide voice communication services as well as data communication services via our packet communications network. In addition to mobile communications services and mobile handset sales, we provide telecommunications services such as optical-fiber broadband service,services, satellite communications services and international services. To make “Smart Life” a reality, through our smart life business we provide smart life services such as video and music distribution, electronic books and other services offered through our “dmarket” portal, finance/payment services, shopping services and various other services to support our customers’ daily lives. We also provide “Mobile Device Protection Service,” development, sales and maintenance of IT systems and others.

Japan’s telecommunications sector has seen a dramatic change in its market structure.

In May 2014, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION (NTT) unveiled itsstructure due to the launch of services by a wide range of players following the start of “Hikari Collaboration Model”—Model,” which is a new wholesale business model for its fiber access, service. As this enables telecommunications operatorsthe rapid proliferation of smartphones and a wide range of other playerstablet devices, developments related to provide services utilizing fiber connections, competition transcending the traditional boundaries of telecommunications market is starting.

Within the mobile communications market, the trend towardsgovernment’s pro-competition policy (such as new market entry by various playersMobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNOs”), the obligation to unlock handset SIMs and the emergenceproposals by the Ministry of new services is expected to gather momentum due to the rapid proliferationInternal Affairs and expanded use of smartphones, tabletsCommunications’ Task Force on Mobile Phone Rates and other function-rich mobile devices as well as the government’s pro-competition policyOther Conditions for Service Offerings) and other factors.

Amid these changes in the market environment, inwe positioned the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015,2016 as the period to make a solid step forward towards the delivery of our medium-term targets, and we managed our business with a particular focus on our operating income target. To boost our telecommunications services revenues, we have added new options to the “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru” new billing plan, implemented various measures to expand the adoption of the “docomo Hikari” optical-fiber broadband service and continued our efforts to strengthen our competitiveness in the mobile communications domains,network and offer attractive handsets. Meanwhile, we launched ahave also strived to add new billing plan, “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru,” while continuing to enhance our network through LTE services and introducing highly functional and attractive devices (handsets). With respect to our efforts“dmarket” marketplace and enrich the content portfolio of our services in thea bid to grow our smart life business and other businesses, while promoting further cost efficiency improvements to reinforce our managerial structure. In addition, we strivedhave launched “+d” value co-creation initiatives, aiming to further enrichdeliver new values by making available the business assets that we have accumulated through our “dmarket” portal, facilitated collaborationoperations, such as our payment platform and alliancesloyalty program, to a large number of external partners. As part of this endeavor, we have rebranded the former “docomo Points Service” program into “d POINT” to offer a point service that is highly convenient and useful for our customers with various partners and expanded new services that are expected to sustain customers’ “smart life.” Meanwhile, we reorganized our corporate group and internal organizations to establish athe aim of expanding the structure that can deliver enhanced customer services, and shifting of human resources to high-priority areas (the smart life and enterprise businesses) in an effort to solidify our business foundation. the “+d” activities.

As a result of these endeavors,the foregoing, we achieved significant improvement in, among other metrics, operating income and operational performance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Furthermore, we were awarded high scores for both our consumer and enterprise offeringsthe No. 1 overall ranking in the customer satisfaction surveys“2015 Japan Mobile Phone Service Study^SM”* conducted by external institutions, and improved our performance in the acquisition of net additions, churn rate and other indicators in mobile communications services.

Furthermore, in March 2015, toward the goals of “delivering one-stop service for both mobile and fixed-line communications,” “realizing smart home services” and “boosting the competitiveness of our core mobile business,” we launched the “docomo Hikari” service (our optical-fiber broadband service) and “docomo Hikari Pack,” a bundle package that allows users to use “docomo Hikari” and our mobile phone service at affordable rates, making the first step in our journey to offering new added value through the convergence of fixed-line and mobile communications services.J.D. Power Asia Pacific.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015,2016, operating revenues decreasedincreased by ¥77.8¥143.7 billion from the prior fiscal year to ¥4,383.4¥4,527.1 billion for two reasons, (i) the recovery of our telecommunications business due mainly to the expanded impact from the broadened uptakean acceleration of the “Monthly Support” discount program and the negative impact caused by the “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru”users migrating to higher-end plans of “Packet Pack,” data buckets of our new billing plan “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru,” and an expansion in demand for tablets and other products purchased as a second mobile device by individual users and (ii) the initial phase following its launch, which more than offset the increase in revenues from equipment sales,growth of our smart life business and other businesses.

Operatingbusinesses such as “dmarket” and other content services. Our operating expenses, increasedon the other hand, decreased by ¥102.3¥0.3 billion from the prior fiscal year to ¥3,744.3¥3,744.1 billion, due mainly to decreases in selling expenses and network-related costs as a riseresult of cost efficiency improvements, despite an increase in revenue-linked expenses such as cost of equipment soldcosts associated with increased revenues in our smart life business and other factors despite our ongoing cost reduction efforts.

businesses. As a result, of the foregoing we recordedour operating income of ¥639.1 billion, a decrease of ¥180.1increased by ¥144.0 billion from the prior fiscal year.

year to ¥783.0 billion. Income before income taxes and equity in net income (losses) of affiliates was ¥643.9¥778.0 billion, and net income attributable to NTT DOCOMO, INC. was ¥410.1 billion, recording a decrease of ¥54.6increased by ¥138.3 billion from the prior fiscal year.year to ¥548.4 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.

We willGoing forward, in order to respond to our customers’ needs on an ongoing basis, we plan to continue to engage ourselves in co-creation ofcreate new added value for customers in collaborationby moving forward with our “+d” initiatives by further evolving our relationships with various external partners so that what is perceived as new today can be taken for granted in the future.through open collaboration.

Market Trend

In the section below, Japan’s telecommunications sector areis analyzed from the perspectives of the trends in the market, technical developments/services and regulatory environment.

Market

According to an announcement by the Telecommunications Carriers Association and cellular network operators, the mobile communications market in Japan saw a 8.683.78 million net increase in cellular subscriptions for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.2016. The total number of cellular subscriptions in Japan grew to 152.70156.48 million as of March 31, 2015,2016, which represented a market penetration rate of approximately 120%123%. The growth prospect of new subscriptions to voice-enabled devices is expected to be limited given the rise in the penetration rate and decrease in future population. The recent increase in the total number of new subscriptions has been driven mainly by an increase in subscriptions achieved through stimulation of demand for secondary devices such as tablet devices and mobile Wi-Fi routers, the development of new markets such as embedded communication modules, and an increase in corporate subscriptions. Consequently, the annual growth rate of cellular subscriptions was 6.1%5.9%, 5.9%6.0% and 6.0%2.5% for the years ended March 31, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2015,2016, respectively.

As of March 31, 2015,2016, cellular services were provided in Japan by three network operators,corporate groups of Mobile Network Operators (“MNOs”)^*1, including us, and their group companies.Mobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNOs”)^*2 that provide service by leasing communications facilities from MNOs. In addition to providing cellular services, the network operatorsmobile communications service providers also procure mobile phones and other communications devices compatible with their communications services from manufacturers, and subsequently sell them to agent resellers and other retailers for sale to subscribers. As for cellular services, all network operatorsMNOs in Japan have introduced the LTE^*13 system, a mobile communications standard developed as an extension to the third-generation mobile communications (3G)(“3G”) system, and the number of LTE subscribers, including users shifting from 3G, havehas been increasing rapidly. The total number of subscriptions to our LTE(Xi) service reached 38.68 million as of March 31, 2016, increasing sharply from 30.74 million as of March 31, 2015 increasing sharply from 21.97 million asand surpassing the total number of March 31, 2014.our 3G FOMA subscriptions of 32.28 million. In addition, driven by an increase in subscribers to LTE(Xi) services, the sales of smartphones have recorded a remarkable increase in recent years. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015,2016, we sold a total of 14.6015.44 million smartphone units, which accounted for over 60% of the total number of our annual device sales and approximately 90% of smartphone users enjoy LTE(Xi) services.units. We expect this trend of expanded subscriptions to our LTE(Xi) service and smartphone sales to continue going forward.

While the growth prospects for Japan’s mobile phone market may be limited in terms of the number of subscriptions to devices used primarily for voice communication, data usage has been increasing owing to the expanded uptake of smartphones, and offeringthe availability of various billing plans for packet access tailored to meet customers’ diverse requirementrequirements and the proliferation of high-speed data services. Furthermore, new market opportunities are beginning to emerge in such areas as content and applications for smartphones. Meanwhile, promotionthe competition among the mobile communications service providers has intensified due to increasing homogeneity in the rate plans, network and handsets offered by the operators, new market entry by MVNOs, and the Ministry of penetrationInternal Affairs and Communications’ pro-competition policies such as the obligation to unlock handset SIMs. The competitive environment in the Japan’s mobile communications market is also expected to change due to the proposals by the Ministry of MVNO^*2 services is being advocated under government policiesInternal Affairs and Communications’ Task Force on Examining Services from Users’ Perspective and Task Force on Mobile Phone Rates and Other Conditions for Service Offerings, and we expect a diverse range of playersare watching to see what impact such proposals have plans to enteron the market in the future as well. Mobile phone users are actively switching operators using the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) system commenced in 2006.competitive environment. In addition, with the use of open platform devices like smartphones and tablets becoming increasingly widespread, competitive services have been offered by OTT^*34 and other players, offer competitive services and thusmeaning that the competition in the Japan’s mobile communications market is expected to remain fierce.

Demands on network operatorsIn the domestic fixed-line communications market, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION (“NTT East”) and NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION (“NTT West”) started the wholesale of fiber-optic services from February 2015. As this enabled not only telecommunication carriers but also a wide range of other players to secure sufficient network capacityprovide services using optical-fiber connections, competition intensified even further transcending the traditional boundaries of the fixed-line telecommunications market. In March 2015, we launched our “docomo Hikari” optical-fiber broadband service and the “docomo Hikari Pack” fixed-mobile bundle package to accommodateoffer new added value to customers. The total number of “docomo Hikari” subscriptions grew to 1.57 million as of March 31, 2016.

Mobile carriers have also actively entered into or promoted collaborations with other industries, such as the growing data traffic due to increasing use of smartphones have been mounting.electricity business. As one way of addressing rising data traffic, itcarriers start offering package discounts by combining the services offered by players in other industries, price competition is expected to become increasingly fierce.

Amid these changes in the market environment, we commenced a new initiative called “+d” and formed alliances with many partners in an effort to jointly create new values by making available the business assets that adoptionwe have accumulated in our operations to date. As part of LTE-Advanced^*4 technology enabling even higher speedsthis endeavor, we have rebranded the former “docomo Point” program into “d POINT” to offer a point service that is highly convenient and capacitiesuseful for LTE services will increase among network operators. We began providing LTE-Advanced services in March 2015 underour customers with the service name “PREMIUM 4G.”aim of expanding the foundation of the “+d” activities.

Technical developments/Services

The traffic carried by mobile communications networks has increased year after year in line with the expansion in the adoption of smartphones, tablets and data devices for PCs and the enrichment of content. To reinforce our network infrastructure, we implemented measures to build up our communications facilities and increase capacity primarily through the use of LTE-Advanced^*1 technology that offers greater spectral efficiency, in order to provide customers with even more stable and comfortable communications quality. By March, 31, 2016, we expanded the coverage of our LTE-Advanced service, known as “PREMIUM 4G,” to 976 cities across Japan. We also started offering a maximum downlink speed of 300Mbps in selected areas from October 2015. From March 2016, we commenced the operation of a commercial network that employs network virtualization techniques. The employment allows us to offer higher-quality network services to customers, realizing better connectivity in cases of network congestion and higher reliability in the event of the failure of facilities.

In June 2014, amid challengingintensifying price competition in the mobile communications market, conditions, to deliver a diverse range of advanced services and to improve the convenience of our subscribers, we began offering a new billing plan, “Kake-hodai & Pake-aeru,” to our subscribers. This new billing plan consists of the four principal services of a flat-rate domestic voice calling plan, a plan to enable sharing of the packet data quota among family members, a discount service favoring long-term users with graduated discounts based on length of subscription, and a service providing discounts to users age 25 or younger. Price competition is expectedTo cater to continuelow-usage customers, we added new rate options “Kake-hodai Light” in the future, as other operators have introduced similar flat-rate domesticSeptember 2015, and to allow customers to choose more combination with voice calling plans.

Innovationsplans and data plans of Packet Pack, we added plans of Packet Pack to be able to combine with “Kake-hodai Light” and “Share Pack 5,” to enable sharing of 5GB data quota among family members, in internet technology may have a material impact on the mobile communications industry including ourselves. IP (Internet Protocol) telephony, which is a form of voice communications based on IP technology, has already become a popular means of communications in fixed-line services as a result of the broad penetration of local broadband access, and the use of applications that enable voice communication over IP technology on smartphones has also become prevalent.March 2016. In addition, therestarting from June 2016, we introduced two new options allowing customers to choose subscriptions with or without cancellation fees after completing a two-year contract, “Zutto DOCOMO Wari Course,” under which extra discounts in proportion to subscription period and reward points are moves by some cellular operatorsgiven to introduce voice over LTE networks (“VoLTE”) that enable voice communication over LTE technologycustomers who agree to sign another two-year contract, and IP technology and we started offering Japan’s first VoLTE“Free Course,” in which the basic monthly charge remains unchanged but customers are allowed to cancel their contract at any time without incurring fees.

To further increase the uptake of “docomo Hikari” optical-fiber broadband service, in June 2014. Because VoLTE offers greater spectral efficiency and superior voice communications quality, the adoption of VoLTE may expand to full scale in the mobile communications industry in the future.

In addition, in response to the start of wholesaling of fiber access services by NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION and NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION,starting from March 2016, we launched the“docomo Hikari Mini,” a two-tier flat-rate plan offering data speeds of up to 100Mbps targeting customers who use broadband connectivity primarily for “Hikari Denwa” IP-telephone service and facsimile transmission but not for internet access. We also introduced “Hikari Fukusu Wari” for customers subscribing to more than two lines of “docomo Hikari” service (our optical-fiber broadband service) and “docomo Hikari Pack,”for the same share group of a bundle package that allows usersfamily or company, etc., to allow customers to use “docomo Hikari” and our mobile phone serviceservices at affordable rates suited to their respective usage conditions.

In addition to the aforementioned endeavors to boost the competitiveness of our telecommunications business, we have also accelerated activities aimed for the growth of our smart life business and other businesses. Specifically, we have strived to increase the service provided on our “dmarket” marketplace and enrich the content of our offerings, such as by launching “dgourmet,” a service that provides various recipes andfood-related tips in May 2015. As a consequence of such efforts, the combined number of “dmarket” subscriptions^*2 reached 15.54 million as of March 2015. However, since it is possible for a diverse range of players, not just network operators, to provide similar services using optical-fiber and to offer discounts on bundles with mobile communications and fixed-line communications, the business environment could grow more competitive beyond the existing boundaries of the telecommunications market.

Regulatory environment