Japan’s Country Codes
- Telephone: +81
- 2 Letter: JP
- 3 Letter: JPN
- ISO 3116-1 Numeric: 392
- ISO 3116-2: JP
- Internet TLD: .jp
- ICAO Airport Code: RJ (Mainland), RO (Okinawa)
- Maritime Identification Digits: 431 & 432
- Emoji Flag: U+1F1EF U+1F1F5
- Official Name: Japan
How to call Japan (international dialing)
- Do not include a leading ‘0’ in the international call sequence – it is only used in Japan for domestic long distance calls and domestic calls to a mobile phone.
- A leading '+' in the phone number means 'dial your country's exit code'.
- Calling from a mobile phone: dial from on the country where you're currently located.
- Calling from a VoIP or satellite phone: dial from on the country where the phone is registered.
… to a mobile (cellular) phone or text (SMS)
Use the same call sequence.
Mobile phone numbers begin with ‘070’, ‘0701’, ‘080’, or ‘090’. Do not dial the leading ‘0’ when calling from outside Japan.
When calling a mobile phone user, dial to the country where the mobile phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a VoIP phone
Use the same call sequence.
IP Telephony Services (another name for VoIP) begin with ‘050’ (or ’50’ when dialed from outside Japan).
When calling a VoIP phone user, dial to the country where the VoIP phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a satellite phone
Japan does not have a country-specific satellite phone system.
Most satellite phones operate on their country code – calls to these satellite phones follow their own call sequence.
… sending a fax
Use the same call sequence.
How to call within Japan (domestic dialing)
‘0’ is used as a trunk prefix to dial to a different area code when calling within Japan.
Local calling (within the same area code)
Dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| five to eight digits |
| local phone number |
Long distance calling (to a different area code)
Dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | one to four digits | five to eight digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Mobile calling (to or from a mobile phone)
Dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | one to four digits | five to eight digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Japanese phone numbers explained
Number details
Japanese phone numbers are nine digits (ten including a leading ‘0’ that is not dialed when calling from outside the country).
The first one to five digits is an area code. It represents a geographic part of the country. Japanese area codes are ordered from a lower number in the North to higher numbers in the South.
Mobile numbers are assigned to area codes ’70’, ‘701’, ’80’, and ’90’. Dial a leading ‘0’ when calling from inside the country.
An example of a Japanese phone number
The National Museum of Modern Art lists its phone number in Tokyo as 03-5777-8600.
Number explanation
| 81 | 3 | 5777 8600 |
| country code for Japan | area (geographic) code for Tokyo | local |
Local phone number – calling from another location in Tokyo
Dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| 5777 8600 |
| local phone number in Tokyo |
Long distance example – calling from Sapporo, Japan (on the other side of the country)
Dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 3 | 5777 8600 |
| trunk prefix | area (geographic) code for Tokyo | local |
Mobile example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile phone roaming in Japan)
Dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 3 | 5777 8600 |
| trunk prefix | area (geographic) code for Tokyo | local |
International example – calling from outside Japan
To call from outside Japan, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by Japan’s country code of ’81’, followed by the local phone number.
Do not include a leading ‘0’ in the call when calling from outside Japan.
| exit code | 81 | 3 | 5777 8600 |
| exit code of the country the call is dialed from | country code for Japan | area (geographic) code for Tokyo | local |
How to call from Japan
‘010’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international phone call from Japan.
Sources and more resources
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication – Japan’s telephone systems regulator.
- ITU (International Telecommunications Union) – United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies.
- International Telecommunications Union – DIALLING PROCEDURES (INTERNATIONAL PREFIX, NATIONAL (TRUNK) PREFIX AND NATIONAL (SIGNIFICANT) NUMBER) (IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITU-T RECOMMENDATION E.164 (11/2010)) – A collection of dialing procedures for all countries and regions of the world. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- International Telecommunications Union – Japan (country code +81) Communication of 19.V.2014 – Details of Japan’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in Japan – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for Japan. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Japan – Entry for Japan in the British Telecom international directory.