TELEPHONE NUMBERS IN JAPAN

:''+81 redirects here. see also +81 (Deerhoof)''
'Country Code: 81'

Contents

Dialing prefixes

Types of numbers

Length of numbers

Emergency services

Operator services

Directory services

Special services

Long distance carrier selection (Myline)

Non-geographic area codes

Decommissioned area codes

Area codes (市外局番 "shigai-kyokuban") of selected major cities

See also

Dialing prefixes

'0' National area code prefix
'00' Carrier selection prefix
'010' International call prefix
'184' Prefix to withhold caller ID
'186' Prefix to provide caller ID

Types of numbers

'1xx' Special numbers
'00xx' Carrier selection codes
'0x' 1-digit geographic area codes
'0xx' 2-digit geographic area codes
'0xxx' 3-digit geographic area codes
'0xxxx' 4-digit geographic area codes
'0xxxxx' 5-digit geographic area codes
'0x0' 2-digit non-Geographic area codes (excluding 010)
'0xx0' 3-digit non-Geographic area codes (01x0, 0570, 0800, 0910, 0990)
Note that, for international calls to Japan, the first '0' digit should not be used. So, for example, to call 090 1111 1111 from the US, you should use 011-81-90-1111-1111

Length of numbers

'Special numbers' are 3 digits long
'Geographic numbers' are 10 digits long, including the leading zero
'0x0 Non-geographic numbers' are 11 digits long, including the leading zero
'0xx0 Non-geographic numbers' are 10 digits long, including the leading zero

Emergency services

'110' Police
'118' Maritime emergencies
'119' Fire brigade
'171' Earthquake assistance

Operator services

'100' NTT operator
'106' Operator assisted collect call service
'108' Automated collect call service
'113' NTT technical faults hotline
'116' NTT customer service and general enquiries

Directory services

'104' NTT national directory enquiries
'0057' KDDI international directory enquiries

Special services

'114' Automated number-busy check
'115' Telegram service
'117' Speaking clock
'136' Information on last incoming call
'177' Weather forecast

Long distance carrier selection (Myline)

With the exception of 001, all carrier selection codes are 4 digits long. They are dialed before the phone number to select a specific carrier.
'001' KDDI (international)
'0033' NTT Communications
'0036' NTT East
'0037' Fusion Communications
'0039' NTT West
'0041' Japan Telecom (international)
'0056' KDDI (international)
'0061' Japan Telecom (international)
'0071' Verizon Japan
'0077' KDDI (national)
'0080' T-Systems
'0081' Fusion Communications
'0088' Japan Telecom (national)
'0089' T-Systems

Non-geographic area codes

'0120' NTT Freedial, tollfree services
'0130' Automated information services
'0140' Disaster relief wireless communications
'0160' Disaster relief satellite communications
'0170' NTT Dengon Dial, chat line services
'0180' NTT Telegong, TV/Radio show feedback dial-in
'0180' NTT Teledome, automated information services
'0190' NTT Angel Line, automated directory services via PC/modem
'0190' NTT Annai Jozu, automated directory services via telephone
'0800' Other tollfree services
'020' Paging services
'030' Mobile telephony services (legacy systems, PDC, J-CDMA, UMTS)
'040' Mobile telephony services (legacy systems, PDC, J-CDMA, UMTS)
'050' IP telephony service (via internet service providers)
'0570' Navi Dial, non-geographic wireline
'060' Universal personal number services
'070' Mobile telephony and data services (PHS)
'080' Mobile telephony and data services (PDC, J-CDMA, UMTS)
'090' Mobile telephony and data services (PDC, J-CDMA, UMTS)
'0910' Private circuit access, local rate services
'0990' NTT DialQ2, premium rate services

Decommissioned area codes

'0150' formerly used for maritime wireless communications
'0450' formerly used for maritime wireless communications
'0750' formerly used for maritime wireless communications

Area codes (市外局番 "shigai-kyokuban") of selected major cities

'011' Sapporo
'017' (next digit 7) Aomori
'018' (next digit 8) Akita
'019' (next digit 6) Morioka
'022' Sendai
'023' (next digit 6) Yamagata
'024' (next digit 5) Fukushima
'024' (next digit 9) Koriyama
'0242' Aizu Wakamatsu
'025' Niigata
'026' Nagano
'027' (next digit 2) Maebashi
'027' (next digit 3) Takasaki
'028' (next digit 6) Utsunomiya
'03' Tokyo
'043' (next digit 2 or 3) Chiba
'044' Kawasaki
'045' Yokohama
'046' (next digit 2) Atsugi
'0468' Yokosuka
'048' Saitama (formed in 2001 by the merger of three cities)<---sometimes it is 049
'052' Nagoya
'053' Hamamatsu
'054' Shizuoka
'055' Kofu
'058' Gifu
'059' Tsu
'06' Osaka
'072' Sakai
'073' Wakayama
'0742' Nara
'075' Kyoto
'076' (next digit 2)Kanazawa
'0764' Toyama
'0776' Fukui
'078' Kobe
'0792' Himeji
'082' Hiroshima
'0827' Iwakuni
'083' Yamaguchi
'0852' Matsue
'086' Okayama
'087' (next digit 8) Takamatsu
'088' (next digit 6) Tokushima
'088' (next digit 8) Kochi
'089' (next digit 9) Matsuyama
'092' Fukuoka
'093' Kitakyushu
'0942' Kurume
'095' (next digit 8) Nagasaki
'0952' Saga
'0956' Sasebo
'096' Kumamoto
'097' Oita
'098' Naha
'0985' Miyazaki
'099' Kagoshima
Geographic numbers are 10 digits long including the leading 0 and the area code. Consequently, densely populated areas have shorter area codes, while less populated areas have longer area codes. For example:
'06' xxxx xxxx (Osaka)
'075' xxx xxxx (Kyoto)
'0742' xx xxxx (Nara)
'04992' x xxxx (Niijima island, Tokyo pref.)
'082486' xxxx (Takano, Hiroshima pref.)
Area codes increase from north to south; Sapporo in Hokkaido (the northernmost prefecture) has '011', and Setouchi-cho's '09973' is far to the south in Kagoshima. When the telephone system was devised, Okinawa was still under US occupation, so when it was returned to Japan in 1972, its telephone numbers were squeezed between Miyazaki (098x) and Kagoshima (099x), and begin with 0988, 0989, and 0980.
During the 1990s, when plans were being drawn up to amalgamate mid-sized cities and towns into larger municipalities, telephone numbering systems were merged in advance. For example,
'07442' x xxxx Kashihara (Nara prefecture)
'07444' x xxxx Sakurai
'074452' xxxx Takatori
'074454' xxxx Asuka
etc.
became:
'0744' 2x xxxx Kashihara
'0744' 4x xxxx Sakurai
'0744' 52 xxxx Takatori
'0744' 54 xxxx Asuka
etc.
Many of these towns have in fact refused to merge, leaving callers with more digits to dial when making local calls. This is partially balanced by not having to dial an area code for the neighboring city.

See also

★ Telephone numbering plan

★ List of dialing codes in Japan

★ Telephone information page of the Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO) [1]