InsideJapan News Network

The number of people using the internet in Japan has hit 90 million, new figures have shown.

Research by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry found that around 75 per cent of the Japanese population surfs the web, reports the Daily Yomiuri.

At the end of last year, the number of internet users over the age of six had risen by 2.8 million on statistics from 2007.

Those accessing the web via a home computer was 82.55 million.

Meanwhile, the overall rate of internet users increased by more than two percentage points, the ministry confirmed.

Recently, it emerged that Japan's largest cable company, J:Com, is to offer the fastest consumer broadband service in the world.

J:Com will provide broadband capable of speeds of 160-megabits-per-second for the equivalent of around £13 per home.

Michael T Fries, the chief executive of J:Com operator Liberty Global, told the New York Times: "To me, this just isn't an expensive capital investment."

Written by Mike Cotgreave