Japanese Phone Number Lookup (+81)

Unknown calls from Japan

Japanese police group phone fraud under the term tokushu sagi (special fraud), and it remains a serious problem, particularly for older people living alone. Classic "ore ore" calls pretend to be a son or grandson in urgent trouble, while newer scripts impersonate police, ward offices offering medical refunds, or telecom companies warning that your line will be cut off. Automated calls from overseas numbers that ask you to press a key have become noticeably common. Because many households still answer landlines, it is common practice to let unknown numbers go to voicemail and check them first, especially 050 internet numbers and unfamiliar international codes.

Japan phone numbers at a glance

Country calling code: +81
Trunk prefix: 0
Number format: Mobile numbers have 11 digits and begin 070, 080 or 090, written as 090-1234-5678. Landlines have 10 digits including the area code, such as 03 for Tokyo and 06 for Osaka.
Example (national): 090-1234-5678
Example (international): +81 90-1234-5678
Emergency number: 110 (police), 119 (fire and ambulance), 118 (coast guard)
Telecom regulator: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)

To call a Japanese number from abroad, drop the leading 0 and dial +81 first: 090-1234-5678 becomes +81 90-1234-5678. A missed call showing +81 at the start came from a Japan number.

How to tell what kind of Japanese number called you

Mobile numbers

Type	Starts with	Notes
Mobile	090	The original mobile range; numbers are portable between operators.
Mobile	080	Mobile range opened after 090 numbers ran short.
Mobile	070	Formerly used for PHS handsets, now part of the regular mobile numbering pool.

Toll-free, premium and special numbers

Type	Starts with	Notes
Toll-free	0120 / 0800	Free Dial numbers used by companies for customer service.
Navi Dial	0570	Nationwide shared-cost numbers; callers pay a fee, often higher than a normal call.
IP phone	050	Internet telephony numbers, used by both legitimate businesses and some scam operations because they are easy to obtain.

Mobile networks in Japan

Numbers can be ported between networks, so the prefix alone does not prove which carrier a number is on today. A WhoCallsMe lookup reads the current carrier of record. The main mobile operators are:

NTT Docomo
au (KDDI)
SoftBank
Rakuten Mobile

Common phone scams in Japan

"It's me" (ore ore) calls

A caller who sounds young and upset says "it's me" and claims to be a son or grandson who lost a company cheque or caused an accident. A "lawyer" or "boss" then asks for cash, sometimes collected in person. Hang up and call your relative on the number you already have.

Line suspension robocalls

An automated voice claims to be from NTT, MIC or another official body and says your phone service will be stopped within hours unless you press 1. You are connected to a fake operator who eventually asks for personal data or payments. Neither the ministry nor carriers suspend lines this way.

Medical and pension refund fraud

Someone claiming to be from a city office or pension service says you are owed a refund and directs you to an ATM. Following their instructions on the phone actually sends money out of your account. ATMs cannot be used to receive refunds, and officials never ask you to operate one.

Report scam calls in Japan

Call #9110 for non-emergency police consultation or 110 if money is at risk; consult the national consumer hotline 188 about suspicious sales calls; contact your bank immediately if you have transferred funds.

Stop unwanted calls

Japan has no national do-not-call register. Block numbers on your phone and use your carrier's spam filtering.

Japan number lookup FAQ

Who called me from +81?+

+81 is Japan's country code. If 70, 80 or 90 follows, it is a mobile; other digits are landline area codes, while 50 means an IP phone. Japanese callers dial these same numbers with a leading 0.

Are 050 numbers safe to answer?+

Many 050 numbers belong to ordinary businesses and app-based phone services, but they are also popular with fraudsters because they are cheap and quick to obtain. If you don't recognise one, let it go to voicemail and look the number up before calling back.

Why am I getting calls from foreign numbers in Japan?+

Scam groups often place automated calls through overseas lines, displaying codes such as +1 or +44. If you do not know anyone in that country, do not press any keys. Some carriers and devices let you block international incoming calls.