Alarmed by the eroding competitiveness of Japanese ports, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has decided to open up port management to the private sector, the Nikkei Report reported.

Under the existing Ports and Harbors Act, enacted in 1950, the nation's ports must be run and managed by local governments. Currently, private-sector management is allowed at only a handful of Japan's 997 ports ?C and even this involves only limited port facilities.