NEC, a leading Asian undersea cable manufacturer and installer, may receive hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies from the Japanese government to acquire specialized cable-laying vessels for digital infrastructure projects.

A government statement said that Japan is considering helping cover up to half the cost—potentially $500 million—for two ships, with each vessel estimated at $300 million. It said that the action was necessary because nearly all of Japan’s communications depend on subsea cables, yet domestic firms currently lack sovereign cable-laying capacity. NEC has relied on leasing a Norwegian vessel and other short-term charters, which officials say has exposed Japan to supply chain vulnerabilities and security risks. With foreign competitors in the U.S., France and China owning dedicated fleets, Japan’s government called its lack of owned ships “very serious.”

If approved, NEC’s first ship could be operational by 2027, strengthening the country’s ability to quickly deploy and repair digital networks. The news was posted by Tech Space 2.0 and reported by the Financial Times.

The final approval for Japan’s planned subsidies to NEC for cable-laying vessels would come from the Japanese Cabinet, specifically through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), which oversees telecommunications and digital infrastructure policy.

The initiative comes after years of deliberation. In 2023, Tokyo designated subsea cables as “vital infrastructure” and required operators to report suspicious activities but stopped short of deeper support. NEC’s CEO warned earlier this year that the company was “the only one fighting with no support” as rivals benefited from direct government backing. France’s Alcatel unit was nationalized, while China provides heavy subsidies to its telecom firms.

NEC’s cable manufacturing and installation businesses operate as a unified enterprise under the NEC Group umbrella, with the entire group engaged in the submarine cable system business and no separate brand names distinguishing manufacturing from installation.

Manufacturing is conducted primarily through OCC Corporation, a subsidiary of NEC, while installation and systems integration are supported by other NEC divisions such as NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation and NEC Platforms, but all activities are marketed collectively as NEC submarine cable solutions.

The current investigation marks one of the most extensive probes into cartel activity in Slovakia’s cable sector to date, signaling heightened competition enforcement in this critical infrastructure market.