NTT DoCoMo announced today that they have hit 50 million contracts. Japan's population is around 127 million. This means only one thing: 2 of every 5 people in Japan has a contract with NTT DoCoMo. No, we're not talking about DoCoMo having 40% of the market share -- we're saying that DoCoMo has 40% of Japan's entire population. Of course the actual percentage is likely a bit lower because of individuals that have two contracts, but still, it's a good indicator of how widespread DoCoMo really is.

Here's their official press release. According to the Impress Watch article, DoCoMo launched in 1979 with a car phone, and gradually introduced services such as i-Mode, FOMA, and Osaifu Keitai. They hit 40 million contracts in January of 2002, meaning they've added another 10 million contracts in 3 years and 10 months. This works out to about 7,246 new contracts per day. I'd be interested in comparing these numbers with those of American and European providers, if there's anyone out there who knows where to find such data.