China Mobile International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile, opened an office in Tokyo to support its expansion into Japan leading up to the Olympic Games in 2020.

Song Yaoming, minister of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Chinese embassy in Japan, said at the office opening: “The 2020 Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, which will predictably bring many business opportunities to Japan. And the number of tourists from all over the world, especially China, will increase significantly.”

The move into Japan is part of the operator’s Big Connectivity strategy, which aims to globalise its business to meet soaring demand for data and connectivity. China Mobile, the largest mobile player in the world with 890 million subscribers, said it is accelerating the pace of expanding its global network.

Jian Qin, an EVP at China Mobile, said in a statement the office will provide localised telecoms services for Chinese enterprises in Japan, and offer a communications bridge for Japanese companies to access the Chinese market and countries involved in the mainland’s belt and road connectivity initiative.

“The establishment of Japan office will promote interrelation of information and communications infrastructure, and strengthen cooperation in emerging technologies such as 5G and IoT,” Jian said.