TOKYO, JAPAN, November 12, 2001 --- NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced today that from November 13, 2001 they will block any e-mail sent to a large number of invalid e-mail addresses. The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications approved the anti-spam measure on November 9.

The move is designed to eliminate the heavy burden that bulk spam places on the network server of DoCoMo's i-mode mobile system. It will also inhibit the ability of spammers to generate lists of valid e-mail.

Although the level of spam sent through the DoCoMo system is expected to be substantially lowered, not all unwanted e-mail will be eliminated. Accordingly, DoCoMo is encouraging users to change their addresses again.

Other measures currently available to users include limiting incoming e-mail to user-specified addresses, blocking user-specified addresses and requiring senders to include a user-supplied password. In addition, beginning next January, users will be able to restrict incoming e-mail to a maximum of 10 user-designated domains.

To ensure maximum effectiveness, DoCoMo will conduct various PR campaigns to encourage users to take full advantage of all available countermeasures.