Press Release: 2026

Press Release
31 January 2026
Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS)

JPRS Provides Comprehensive Support for New gTLDs from Application through Operations via its "Comprehensive Brand TLD Services"

- Passed All Test Suites of ICANN's Technical Evaluation and Becomes an Evaluated RSP, the Only One Listed from Japan -

Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd. (JPRS: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President Koki Higashida) today announced that, in connection with the call for applications for new gTLDs scheduled to begin in April 2026, it has passed all test suites of ICANN[*1]'s technical evaluation as a Registry Service Provider (RSP), and that it will provide a "Comprehensive Brand TLD Services" offering comprehensive support from application through operations to companies and organizations considering the use of new gTLDs.

RSPs that have passed ICANN's technical evaluation were published on 30 January 2026 as "Evaluated Registry Service Providers (Evaluated RSPs)," with JPRS being the only RSP from Japan listed. In the upcoming expansion of gTLDs, known as the "New gTLD Program," applicants can identify an Evaluated RSP, thereby exempting them from ICANN's technical evaluation process. JPRS regards this evaluation as validation of its long-standing track record in domain name administration and management, as well as its high level of technical capability and reliability as an RSP.

- About the New gTLD Program

The New gTLD Program is an initiative led by ICANN to expand Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) used on the Internet, such as ".com" and ".net." ICANN has conducted three rounds of expansion of gTLD applications up to date, and in the third round in 2012, more than 1,200 gTLDs were created. ICANN is currently work toward the fourth round (2026 Round), with applications scheduled to open in April 2026.

- About RSPs and the RSP Evaluation Program

Organizations responsible for the registration management of gTLDs and Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) are called "Registry Operators." Registry Operators require diverse specialized technologies and expertise - including management of registry database and operation of the DNS[*2] - the number of "Registry Service Providers" (RSPs), which provide these services to Registry Operators, has grown as the number of TLDs has increased.

In response to the increase in RSPs, ICANN has launched, for this round of applications, the "Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program" (RSP Evaluation Program), which evaluates and publishes the technical capabilities of RSPs. Comprehensive assessments have been conducted of registry-related technologies provided by each RSP, including registration services, DNS, DNSSEC[*3], and RDAP[*4].

- About .Brand TLDs

In the 2012 application round, new categories of gTLDs - different from previous ones - were introduced, such as Community TLDs intended for use by specific communities or groups, Geographic Name TLDs targeting city and regional names in various countries, and .Brand TLDs that use strings such as company names, organization names, and trademarks. Among these, .Brand TLDs allow the Registry Operators, such as companies and organizations, to freely design their domain name space and to use their own brand exclusively. As a result, many .Brand TLDs are expected to be created in the upcoming round as well.

- About JPRS's Comprehensive Brand TLD Services

For companies and organizations considering to introduce .Brand TLDs, JPRS provides end-to-end support from application through operations via its "Comprehensive Brand TLD Services," covering management decisions on whether to introduce .Brand TLDs, application procedures, communicating with ICANN, and operational practices after delegation. For details, please contact us in the Press Contact section as below.

As a company that supports the network infrastructure, JPRS will continue to make further efforts to improve the quality of its and fellow-ccTLD's services, and thereby contributing to the development of the Internet and the building of a better future for everyone, not only in Japan and the Asia Pacific region but throughout the rest of the world.

About JPRS

JPRS is a leading service provider for management and registration of domain names and for the domain name system (DNS) operations. The company was established on 26 December 2000. As a company dedicated to maintaining the Internet infrastructure of Japan, JPRS operates under a corporate philosophy which aims to contribute to the expansion of the Internet and to building a better future for people and society.

Glossary

*1. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers): A private, non-profit corporation established in the United States in 1998 to coordinate foundational Internet resources such as domain names, IP addresses, protocols, and root servers.
*2. DNS (Domain Name System): A system for obtaining information about computers connected to the Internet (such as the correspondence between domain names and IP addresses).
*3. DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions): A technology that adds digital signatures to DNS responses and enables validation by the querying party, thereby improving DNS resilience against cyberattacks.
*4. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol): One of the Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS) that allows the Internet users to look up information related to domain names.

References

List of Evaluated MAIN, DNS, DNSSEC, PROXY, and IDN Support Level Applications | New gTLD Program (ICANN)
https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en/application-rounds/round2/rsp/rsp-applications/evaluated-rsps
The New gTLD Program | New gTLD Program（ICANN）
https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en

Press Contacts

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