Reuters reports that Vodafone’s revenue in Japan fell 5% from April-September despite a slight 0.4% increase in sales.

It would seem that the Japanese mobile phone market, dominated by giants NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Vodafone, would naturally scare off would-be competitors due to the already fierce competition and necessary retail investment. It turns out, however, that they were merely being held back by government regulations, which are set to finally allow new competition next year, for the first time in 12 years, to three companies: Softbank, eAccess and IP Mobile, as reported by both AFP and Kyodo News.

NTT DoCoMo announced an alliance with Tower Records Japan, allowing cell phone subscribers to access music news, and make payments with DoCoMo wallet phones in lieu of cash.

NTT DoCoMo will purchase 42 percent of the shares forTower Records Japan, which operates independently from the US retailer, as part of the deal for ¥12.8 billion (US $108.7 million).