Haruo Murakami, vice president of long-distance carrier Japan Telecom Co Ltd, talks to reporters March 12 after he told a news conference that if an agreement was reached by the end of March, overseas carrier International Telecom Japan Inc (ITJ) would be merged with his firm around October. The two Japanese telecoms companies said they were aiming to work out a merger pact by the end of the month, a move analysts said signalled the first step toward a major realignment of the industry here.

JAPAN TELECOMS