On September 30th, 2009, ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce concluded the JPA (Joint Project Agreement). On the same day, the Affirmation of Commitments was signed between them.

The Affirmation is of long standing and is not limited to the three years for which previous agreements operated.
It declares ICANN is independent and is not controlled by any one entity. It commits ICANN to reviews performed BY THE COMMUNITY -- a further recognition that the multi-stakeholder model is robust enough to review itself.

The Affirmation of Commitments - What it Means
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm

JPRS has, since its establishment, supported Internet resource management led by private sector. Being a private organization itself, JPRS has taken responsibility as the registry of .JP top-level domain and built up international framework through signing the Sponsorship Agreement with ICANN, also the private organization.

In addition, JPRS has actively taken part in ICANN's relevant councils, committees, working groups and other policy development discussions.

In the past JPA reviews, JPRS has supported ICANN by publicly stating that ICANN has become capable of taking its responsibility.

JPRS Submitted Comments to U.S. Department of Commerce
(9 June 2009)
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/2009/090609.html

JPRS Submitted Comments Responding to Notice of Inquiry by the U.S. Department of Commerce Regarding Joint Project Agreement
(19 February 2008)
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/2008/080219.html

JPRS Submitted Comments Responding to Notice of Inquiry by the U.S. Department of Commerce
(7 July 2006)
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/2006/060707.html

JPRS welcomes the end of JPA and signing of the Affirmation as the milestone of private-sector-led Internet resource management. And JPRS will contribute more than ever to sound evolution of the Internet.

We, JPRS, are developing a plan to implement DNSSEC [*1], the technology that adds improved security to the Domain Name System, in JP domain name services by the end of 2010. The purpose of this document is to present a background of the implementation and future actions.

Background

DNS is a vital mechanism which provides the core function of the Internet, and its operational stability is required in line with the growing importance of the Internet as part of the social infrastructure. In addition, under the circumstance where security threats caused by frauds of DNS responses have turned into reality, a strong demand for worry-free DNS which excludes these threats has grown in late years.

Aiming at improving DNS security, IETF [*2] advanced the consideration to establish the security extension of DNS called DNSSEC. DNSSEC adds signatures to DNS responses with the public key encryption scheme. This enables receivers of the DNS response to validate whether or not the response is correct and complete.

JPRS regards DNSSEC as the most effective and feasible current solution against the security threats caused by frauds of DNS responses. Based on this view, JPRS has researched and developed the method of implementing DNSSEC into large-scale zones, while discussing operational technology and roadmap toward diffusion through collaboration with DNS-related parties from home and abroad. From now on, we are going to conduct tests and reviews of specifications in order to implement DNSSEC into JP domain name services.

Actions to be taken by related parties

DNSSEC is a mechanism to validate integrity and authenticity of DNS response, which is realized by supporting DNSSEC on both DNS providers' and users' side. Consequently, various DNS-related parties need to move ahead on their own plan to handle DNSSEC.

JPRS is going to deploy DNSSEC in JP DNS and JP domain name services provided by JPRS itself, while conducting promotional and educational activities and providing information to different DNS-related parties categorized as follows.

Operators of authoritative DNS server

As DNS forms a hierarchical structure stretched from the root, it is demanded that DNSSEC be introduced into all the layers of DNS from the highest layer of root DNS to DNS at the TLD level and DNS server for each domain name.

- Operators of root DNS

To ensure smooth operation of DNSSEC, it is essential to introduce DNSSEC into root DNS which is the highest layer in the DNS structure. ICANN [*3]/IANA [*4] is moving ahead the discussion toward adopting DNSSEC. Taking the discussion into consideration, JPRS continues to support early adoption of DNSSEC at the root level, by cooperating with the other TLD registries.

*3 ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
*4 IANA: Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

- Operators of the other TLD registries

Use of DNS does not close within the national borders or respective TLDs. With a view to contributing to spread of DNSSEC over the whole Internet and enhancing DNS security, JPRS is going to play an active part in information exchange among the TLD registries.

- DNS server operators for each JP domain name

DNSSEC requires specific procedures including signing DNS information and registering signing key information in DNS server for each domain name.　 Targeting the operators of each JP domain names, JPRS will provide information on DNSSEC operation through seminars and media.

Operators of cache DNS server

Validation of DNS responses in DNSSEC is done by cache DNS servers administered in ISPs, universities and companies. JPRS will build deeper cooperation with domestic ISPs and will develop activities such as providing information on DNSSEC operation through seminars and media.

JP domain name registrars

To enable JP domain name registrants to use DNSSEC service provided by JPRS, it is required that the services of JP domain name registrars support DNSSEC. JPRS is going to cooperate with registrars to promote the arrangement of DNSSEC service environment.

Internet users

Internet users are not required to take any special action, as the necessary validation on the users' side is done in the cache DNS servers of their providers such as ISPs. However, it is important for the users to be aware of DNSSEC and whether he/she is in the environment supporting DNSSEC or not. To help ensure this circumstance, JPRS is going to provide explanatory information on DNSSEC for the users.

As mentioned above, we will continue to promote actions by various related parties toward dissemination of DNSSEC, with an eye to implement DNSSEC into JP domain name services by the end of 2010.

JPRS posted English translation of "JP Domain Name Registry Report 2008." This is the annual report for 2008, briefing that year's activities performed by JPRS, in relation to its management and administration of .JP top-level domain.

Translation: JP Domain Name Registry Report 2008 (PDF)
http://jprs.co.jp/doc/report/registry-report-2008-e.pdf

Original: JP Domain Name Registry Report 2008 (in Japanese, PDF)
http://jprs.co.jp/doc/report/registry-report-2008.pdf

Note: This English translation is provided only for reference.

April 22, 2009
Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.(JPRS)

Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS: head office at Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koki Higashida), the company responsible for management and administration of .JP top-level domain and overall management and operation of the JP Domain Name System (JP DNS), announced today that it would participate in the BIND 10 development project. BIND 10 is the next version of DNS software to be launched by Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. (ISC: head office at Redwood City, CA; President: Paul Vixie).

DNS is one of the fundamental functions supporting the Internet and is indispensable for its smooth operation. BIND, which is developed by ISC, is the most widely-used DNS server software. The current BIND version 9 was released in September 2000, thus it has been nearly a decade since the start of its distribution.

With the remarkable growth of the Internet during these years, requirements for DNS, such as stronger resistance against DDoS attacks on DNS servers, are building up continuously. In addition, as the new technologies including IP Anycast and DNSSEC spread, demand for the new DNS software to apply these new technologies is increasing. In response to these growing needs, ISC announced a new project to develop the next-generation BIND 10 which offers enhanced security and resilience.

In support of the objectives of the project, and as the registry of .JP domain names, JPRS decided to participate in it from the development stage. JPRS believes that would lead to its contribution towards the operational stability of the Internet. A number of TLD registries in the world, including CIRA (.ca) and DENIC (.de), have also announced that they will join the project. And JPRS plans to take an active part in this joint development initiative not only by offering financial support, but also by assigning its engineers to the project.

According to the current plan, BIND 10 will have the features including the followings:

1. Secure
   - Full support of DNSSEC
   - Improved key management and renewal benefiting DNSSEC operators


2. Flexible
   - Modular design
   - Facile integration with external modules and programs


3. Scalable
   - Adaptability to a wide range of systems from a large complex system used by TLDs to small home system


4. Resilient
   - System logs to provide data necessary for identifying the causes of failures
   - Prompt notification of and response to threats against security, including attacks from outside.

Like its predecessors, BIND 10 will be released by ISC as the open-source software offered for the entire Internet community.

JPRS will continue to cooperate with DNS server operators to meet the needs of the Internet community and society at large, and endeavor to achieve growth and operational stability of the Internet.

List of TLD Registries Announcing Participation in BIND 10 Development Project:

- JPRS (.jp/ Japan)
- CIRA (.ca/ Canada)
- Afilias (.info)
- AFNIC (.fr/ France)
- DENIC (.de/ Germany)
- IIS.SE (.se/ Sweden)
- Nominet (.uk/ United Kingdom)
- Registro.br (.br/ Brazil)
- SIDN (.nl/ The Netherlands)
- ZADNA (.za/ South Africa)

Glossary

* IP Anycast
Generally, a single IP address is assigned to each specific host on the Internet. With the IP Anycast technology, a single IP address is assigned to a particular function or service so that multiple hosts can handle the transactions assigned to the address. With this approach, load distribution is realized by the routing technology. Servers that use IP Anycast technology share a single IP address, and users' requests are handled by the server closest to the user in terms of routing protocols.

* DNSSEC
DNSSEC is an extended function of DNS providing DNS services more securely. DNSSEC uses the public key encryption technology for authentication to assure the legitimacy of the source and contents of the data received from servers.

* DDoS attack
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack whereby a number of computers are engaged in denial of service attacks simultaneously.

* Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS)
http://jprs.co.jp/en/
JPRS was incorporated on December 26, 2000 to carry out responsibility of the management and administration of the .JP top-level domain and to operate the domain name system. As a company dedicated to maintaining the Internet infrastructure, JPRS contributes to the development of the Internet and building of a better future for everyone.

References

* "ISC Commences Development of Next Generation Domain Name Server Architecture with Unprecedented Community Sponsorship": Release by ISC
https://www.isc.org/about/pr/2009042200

* ISC BIND 10
https://www.isc.org/bind10/

* ISC (Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.)
https://www.isc.org/

* BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain)
https://www.isc.org/software/bind/

Press Contacts

Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS)
TEL:+81-3-5215-8451
FAX:+81-3-5215-8452
E-mail: press@jprs.co.jp
http://jprs.co.jp/
Chiyoda First Bldg. East 13F, 3-8-1 Nishi-Kanda
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0065, Japan

On 31 March 2009, an RFC which specifies a standard for E-mail Address Internationalization (EAI) and was co-authored by two (2) engineers of JPRS was published. This means that EAI is prepared for the field tests toward the actual utilization.

An e-mail address is described in the form of "user-name@domain-name". In terms of standardization of "domain name" which is on the right part to @, a standard is already defined as Internationalized Domain Name (IDN). EAI is the technology which internationalizes the whole e-mail address including the left part to @, i.e., "local part"; also, it is the technology whereby non-ASCII characters of various languages including Japanese can be used in any part of an e-mail address.

Internationalization of e-mail address is one of the significant technical developments to break down barriers to the use of the Internet; thus, it is beneficial for those whose mother tongue is not English. E-mail is one of the fundamental services of the Internet. Therefore, we need to internationalize e-mail through retaining the compatibility with the current system, while making them interface with the future extensions.

With this publication, the fundamental standards to keep the backward compatibility and extend the respective protocols which set up the e-mail system are compiled in four (4) RFCs (RFC 5335, RFC 5336, RFC 5337 and RFC 5504) as experimental standards. RFC 5504 specifically defines a standard for the backword compatibility with the existing e-mail system in case the internationalized e-mail address is used. RFC 5504 is co-authored by Mr. Kazunori Fujiwara and Mr.Yoshiro Yoneya from JPRS.

Now that these RFCs are published, all the fundamental RFCs required to handle the internationalized e-mail address are in place, so the development of experimental implementation and the field test on the Internet toward the actual utilization are now available. From now on, implementation to e-mail softwares and the review toward the preparation of a variety of RFCs which become standard track are going to be proceeded through the field tests and other related activities.

References:

• RFC 5504
  (Downgrading mechanism for Email Address Internationalization. K. Fujiwara, Ed., Y. Yoneya Ed.. March 2009.)
  http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5504.txt
• RFC 5335
  (Internationalized Email Headers. Y. Abel, Ed.. September 2008.)
  http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5335.txt
• RFC 5336
  (SMTP Extension for Internationalized Email Addresses. J. Yao, Ed., W. Mao, Ed.. September 2008.)
  http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5336.txt
• RFC 5337
  (Internationalized Delivery Status and Disposition Notifications. C. Newman, A. Melnikov, Ed.. September 2008.)
  http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5337.txt

On 22 November 2008, JPRS submitted its comments responding to the Notice of Inquiry which had been opened on 9 October by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC).

The Notice of Inquiry invites comments regarding implementation of DNSSEC at the root zone. JPRS submitted its position from the standpoint of supporting early deployment of DNSSEC.

References:

• Notice of Inquiry Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration Docket No. 0810021307-81308-01 Enhancing the Security and Stability of the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System
• http://www.ntia.doc.gov/frnotices/2008/FR_DNSSEC_081009.pdf
• NTIA Seeks Public Comments Regarding the Deployment of DNSSEC
  http://www.ntia.doc.gov/DNS/dnssec.html

JPRS Comments

JPRS has published on its website "Interim Report on DNAME Technical Evaluation" which was performed by JPRS.

This report explains how DNAME resource record works with some of major recursive DNS servers if it is used to implement IDN ccTLD.

Interim Report on DNAME Technical Evaluation
http://jprs.co.jp/en/Report-20080929-DNAME.pdf

Reference:

DNAME (Non-Terminal DNS Name Redirection)
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2672.txt

JPRS posted English translation of "JP Domain Name Registry Report 2007." This is an annual report for 2007, briefing that year's activities performed by JPRS, in relation to its management and administration of .JP top-level domain.

Translation: JP Domain Name Registry Report 2007 (PDF)
http://jprs.co.jp/doc/report/registry-report-2007-e.pdf

Original: JP Domain Name Registry Report 2007 (in Japanese, PDF)
http://jprs.co.jp/doc/report/registry-report-2007.pdf

Note: This translation is made only for reference. The Japanese language version of this report is original.

JPRS has published on its website "Application Evaluation Report Regarding IDN TLD" which was co-authored by CNNIC, NIDA (KRNIC), TWNIC and JPRS.

This report consists of the results of the tests carried out by each of these co-authors on a voluntary basis. The objective of the report is to provide with common criteria for the evaluation of IDN TLDs on applications and to encourage relevant entities to join the evaluation.

Application Evaluation Report Regarding IDN TLD
http://jprs.co.jp/topics/Report-20080331-v1.0.pdf

References:

• CNNIC
  http://www.cnnic.cn/
• NIDA (KRNIC)
  http://www.nic.or.kr/
• TWNIC
  http://www.twnic.net.tw/

On 4 March 2008, JPRS announced that the cumulative number of registered JP domain names as of 1 March 2008 exceeded one million for the first time, hitting 1,003,285.

Of 1,003,285 registrations, 622,903 are the General-use JP domain names (e.g., EXAMPLE.JP) (ASCII: 480,890; and Japanese: 142,013). The rest consists of the Organizational Type JP domain names (e.g., EXAMPLE.CO.JP) and Geographic Type JP domain names, recording 380,382.

The General-use JP domain names marked 17% increase by over 90,000 from 532,699 to 622,903, while Organizational and Geographic Type JP domain names grew by steady 4%.

This rapid growth of the General-use JP domain name was propelled by the rise of companies setting up a website for each of their product as well as individuals sending out information to the Internet through various online means including blogs. Also, JPRS regards that a series of its measures to improve its services, including reduction of registration fee in March 2007, has promoted registrations and active utilization of the General-use JP domain names.

Back in May 1992, when JP domain names were managed by a small group of researchers, there were only 795 JP domain names. In 1993, JPNIC (Japan Network Information Center), the predecessor of JPRS, was established and took over the responsibility to manage JP domain names. Since then, registration of JP domain names has taken a leap forward with increased commercial use of the Internet, which resulted in 100,000 registrations in 1999. Then in February 2001, when JPRS launched General-use JP domain names, the number of registration expanded further and marked 240,000. JP domain names has continued to increase along with the Internet growth in Japan, which led to the recent accomplishment of one million registrations for the first time in the history of JP domain names.

References:

• Statistics
  http://jprs.co.jp/en/stat/
• Time-Series Data of JP Domain Name Registration (since 1992)
  http://jprs.co.jp/en/stat/domains.html

Hirofumi Hotta, Director of JPRS, was re-appointed as the Council Member of ICANN ccNSO (Country Code Names Supporting Organisation).

ccNSO, one of ICANN's Supporting Organisations, was established under the bylaws of ICANN. ccNSO bears important roles in nurturing consensus across the ccTLD community relating various issues concerning ccTLD's, and in making policy recommendations to ICANN Board, by coordinating with the other ICANN Supporting Organisations and Committees.

ccNSO Council Member is to be first nominated by other ccTLD managers and then selected through election. Hotta who has been the Councilor since February 2005, has been vigorously contributing to ICANN activities, such as establishing Accountability Framework (a framework to formalize the relationship between ICANN and ccTLD registries), and reviewing global policies concerning Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

Due to termination of his current term as the Council Member, and through the process to select the successor, Hotta has been elected again to represent Asia-Pacific region. He will cotinue to serve until March 2011.

One of the biggest challenges for the ccTLD community today is to develop policies with regards to implementation of IDN ccTLD's. Hotta and JPRS will make full use of their knowledge and expertise in addressing this issue, as well as other relevant issues.

References:

• ccNSO Council Members
  http://ccnso.icann.org/about/council.htm
• ICANN(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
  http://www.icann.org/
• ccNSO(Country Code Names Supporting Organisation)
  http://ccnso.icann.org/

On 15 February 2008, JPRS submitted its comments responding the notice of inquiry opened by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) is between the United States government and ICANN for the purpose of transitioning the Internet domain name and addressing system to a private sector multi-stakeholder model. This agreement is in the process of a mid-term review for which the NTIA called for comments.

Since its inception, JPRS has strongly supported private-sector-led Internet governance and so actively participated in the ICANN process. On this account, JPRS submitted its comments appreciating ICANN's achievement. This is in line with the submission which JPRS had made in July 2006, as in reference below.

JPRS Comments

15 February 2008 Office of International Affairs National Telecommunications and Information Administration Ms. Suzanne R. Sene 1401 Constitution Avenue / Room 4701 Washington DC 20230 USA Subject: The Continued Transition of the Technical Coordination and Management of the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System: Midterm Review of the Joint Project Agreement Dear Ms Sene, JPRS appreciates the US Government for offering this opportunity for comments on the transition of the coordination and management of the DNS. We, JPRS (Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.), are one of the ccTLD Sponsoring Organizations that formalized the relationship with ICANN in its earliest days. Since its inception, JPRS has supported private-sector-led Internet governance, thus contributed to organize ICANN and participated in discussions of various issues surrounding the management of the DNS. This contribution has been made based on a notion that JPRS, as well as the other community members, forms part of ICANN. JPRS gives the following comments responding to your Notice of Inquiry: ICANN has promoted management of the Internet's technical resources on a multi-stakeholder coordination basis and contributed to realizing security and stability of the DNS. All in all, we view ICANN has achieved a satisfactory level of performance. Especially, we value a series of steps taken by ICANN to protect gTLD registrants including Registry Failover Planning, Registrar Data Escrow and RAA amendments; as these measures strengthen consumer protection as well as security and stability of the DNS. We also value ICANN's processes where the inputs made by JPRS and other parties such as ccTLD registries, who have similar experiences, were well taken into consideration in ICANN's developing these solutions. It is crucial that ICANN continues to listen to and incorporate the views and experiences of the relevant parties in addressing any issues. It is likely that ICANN adds new TLD's in near future. In introducing the new TLD's, ICANN needs to develop mechanisms that avoid confusion and satisfy the demand of the community. One of ccTLD manager's responsibilities is to serve the interest of the relevant community. In this regard, we believe ccTLD's can provide valuable input to ICANN throughout the process for the introduction. So we propose ICANN continue to consider such input for the policy development. The initial process to address IDN TLD issue was slow as it took time to gain common understanding of the issues per se by multi-stakeholders, global organizations and individuals. In the past few years, however, the discussion has been accelerated to a very high level, accompanied by concrete action. Accordingly, we can now expect to see the first IDN TLD within a year or so. This acceleration is the evidence of the fact that complex issues have been tackled by ICANN's activities through participation of multiple stakeholders, including global organizations and individuals. In the early days, not many ccTLD's formalized their relationships with ICANN due to excess formality of the responsibility in the proposed contract. Later, however, ICANN poured efforts in perceiving the situation of ccTLD's, and a new framework based on mutual trust called Accountability Framework was introduced. It is noteworthy that as of January 22, 2008, as many as 53 ccTLD's, including 37 ccTLD's who signed Accountability Frameworks, have formalized their relationships with ICANN. In respect to more participation of ccTLD's in the ICANN process, a working group has been established in ccNSO; and we expect to see further development. We believe relationship between ccTLD's and ICANN will continue to be stabilized. JPRS, as a ccTLD manager, is certainly ready to contribute in achieving this. The plans for transition of the DNS responsibility should be carefully developed so that the transition does not damage continuity of the IANA function. We understand the IANA is the scope of the agreement that is separate from JPA, but we should take into consideration of the continuity of IANA function when developing the plan. Finally, please let us emphasize that JPRS continues to support the private-sector management of the DNS. We strongly believe that now is the time to start developing the plan for transition in preparation for the upcoming termination of JPA. Sincerely yours, Koki Higashida President Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.

References:

Notice of Inquiry
Department of Commerce
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The Continued Transition of the Technical Coordination and Management of the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System:
Midterm Review of the Joint Project Agreement
Docket No. 071023616-7617-01
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2007/ICANN_JPA_110207.html

NTIA Seeks Public Comments Regarding Joint Project Agreement with ICANN
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/jpamidtermreview.html

JPRS Submitted Comments Responding to Notice of Inquiry by the U.S. Department of Commerce (7 July 2006)
http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/060707.html

February 5, 2008
Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.(JPRS)
WIDE Project

The M-Root DNS server is one of the thirteen root servers currently operating in the world. The WIDE Project first started its operation in August 1997 as the only root server in the Asia-Pacific region. With an expansion of added servers enhanced with the IP Anycast technology, the servers are now based in such countries as Japan (three servers in Tokyo), Korea (Seoul), France (Paris) and U.S. (San Francisco). They have been jointly operated by WIDE and JPRS through assistance and cooperation from IXs and ISPs.

The M-Root DNS server acquired the IPv6 address in 2003 ahead of any other Root DNS servers in the world.Through various experiments, the IPv6 address of the M-Root DNS server, 2001:dc3::35, is finally registered as an AAAA record in the root zone, offering a DNS query to the root zone solely operating in IPv6. While IPv4 is facing its address exhaustion that is likely to surface in about two years, the IPv6 address registration of the M-Root DNS server is expected to promote further deployment of IPv6.

The WIDE Project and JPRS will continuously and jointly work in cooperation with other domestic and international DNS server operators to achieve further development and to provide greater operational stability for the Internet in accordance with the demands of the Internet community and society.

Terminology

* Root DNS server:
A group of name servers that maintain the information stored at the top most level in the hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). The Root DNS servers have 13 host names ranging from A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET to M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. Their task is to provide the core information that makes all kinds of domain naming available on the Internet.
List of the Root DNS server operators: http://www.root-servers.org/

* IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority)
IANA is currently operated by ICANN. The tasks of IANA include allocation and management of the Internet addresses and numbers used in various Internet protocols in addition to DNS root zone management. It is also responsible for IPv4/IPv6 address allocation to the regional registries such as APNIC.
http://www.iana.org/

* ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
ICANN is a non-profit corporation established in October 1998, with the goal of coordinating and managing the Internet resources globally. The tasks of ICANN include allocation of IP (Internet Protocol) address space, assignment of protocol identifiers, name system management for gTLD (generic Top-Level Domain) and ccTLD(country code Top-Level Domain) and system administration of root servers.
http://www.icann.org/

* AAAA record (a quad-A record)
An AAAA record is a DNS record used to specify an IPv6 address associated with the domain name (See RFC3596). A DNS cache server may also look up AAAA records of other DNS servers to submit DNS queries in IPv6.

* Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.(JPRS)
JPRS was incorporated on December 26, 2000 to carry out responsibility of the management and administration of the .JP top-level domain and to operate the domain name system. As a company dedicated to maintaining the Internet infrastructure, JPRS contributes to the development of the Internet and building of a better future for everyone.
http://jprs.co.jp/

* WIDE Project
WIDE (Widely Integrated Distributed Environment), established in 1988, is a research consortium that promotes the research and development of Internet technologies. Over 100 corporations and 40 universities are currently involved in the WIDE Project, partaking in a wide array of research and development activities.
http://www.wide.ad.jp/

Press Contacts

Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS)
TEL:+81-3-5215-8451
FAX:+81-3-5215-8452
E-mail: press@jprs.co.jp
http://jprs.co.jp/
Chiyoda First Bldg. East 13F, 3-8-1 Nishi-Kanda
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0065, Japan

WIDE Project
TEL: +81-466-49-3618
FAX: +81-466-49-3622
E-mail: press@wide.ad.jp
Delta 109, Keio Research Institute at SFC
5322 Endo, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-8520, Japan

At the ICANN Board Meeting held on November 2, 2007 in Los Angeles, Mr.Shinta Sato of JPRS was formally appointed by ICANN Board as a member of SSAC (Security and Stability Advisory Committee), one of ICANN's Advisory Committees.

SSAC advises the ICANN community and the Board on matters relating to the security and integrity in the areas of Internet's naming and addressing systems.

The committee is made up of the experts for the operation of root servers, gTLD's/ccTLD's, domain name registrars, and Regional Internet Registries for IP address allocation.

In SSAC, Mr.Sato will build on his experience and expertise gained with JPRS, a leading ccTLD registry, and contribute to stable operation of the global Internet.

His participation to SSAC is in line with JPRS's notion that it consistently devotes itself to the interest of the global Internet community.

References:

ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
http://www.icann.org/

SSAC (Security and Stability Advisory Committee)
http://www.icann.org/committees/security/