Course Description

This course provides an overview of major Japanese public utilities at the viewpoint of industrial organizations and regulation schemes. Public utilities include electricity, transportations, natural gas, and water supply services. They have, in principle, a characteristic of universal services, and also, their services are indispensable for our lives.
This course aims to understand the reason why public utilities are regulated by government and authorities. Despite of private companies, public utilities are regulated by the government because they have a characteristic of public goods and natural monopoly.
In the course, I am going to introduce you to the organization and regulation mechanism of some kinds of public utilities in Japan. You do not need to have the backgrounds such as mathematical knowledge.