The Japan country code is +81 — reaching all 47 prefectures from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south, plus the world\'s 5th-largest mobile market with ~200 million mobile subscriptions across NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank, au (KDDI), Rakuten Mobile. The number every LINE + PayPay verification expects.
Japan was one of the very first non-Western countries to receive an ITU country code, assigned +81 in 1947 alongside the USA. Here is the structure behind every Japanese phone number.
Japan has used the +81 country code since 1947 — one of the very first non-Western nations assigned a code. The "8" places Japan in ITU zone 8 covering East + South-East Asia (alongside China +86, South Korea +82, Vietnam +84, North Korea +850, Taiwan +886). The "1" suffix was the second-shortest assignment in zone 8.
Japan's telecom industry is regulated by the MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, formerly MPT). Four major mobile carriers operate: NTT DoCoMo (~85M subs), KDDI au (~60M), SoftBank (~50M), and Rakuten Mobile (~7M). All are GSM/LTE/5G — no CDMA legacy.
Japanese landline area codes are 1 to 4 digits including the leading 0. Tier-1 cities have 1-digit codes (03 Tokyo, 06 Osaka). Tier-2 cities have 2-digit codes (011 Sapporo, 022 Sendai, 045 Yokohama, 052 Nagoya, 075 Kyoto, 092 Fukuoka). Smaller cities have 3-4 digit codes.
Japan invented the modern mobile internet. NTT DoCoMo launched the world\'s first commercial mobile-internet service — i-mode — in February 1999, predating the iPhone by 8 years and Android by 9. By 2008 i-mode had 49 million subscribers + ~12,000 official content sites. It was Japan\'s mobile-data hegemony that gave us emoji (a Shigetaka Kurita invention for i-mode 1999).
A Japanese phone number in international format is written as +81 [area code without 0] [local]. For example, +81 3 1234 5678 for a Tokyo landline (domestic 03-1234-5678), +81 6 1234 5678 for Osaka (06-1234-5678), or +81 90 1234 5678 for an NTT DoCoMo mobile.
Japanese mobile numbers start with 070, 080, or 090 domestically — written internationally as +81 70/80/90 NNNN NNNN. All Japanese mobiles are 11 digits domestically (10 after dropping the leading 0). The leading 0 across all numbers (03, 045, 080) is Japan's national trunk prefix — dropped when dialing internationally.
+81 3 1234 5678 reaches Tokyo from anywhere.From the neon of Shibuya to the snow festivals of Sapporo, every Japanese number lives behind a +81. Pick the area code that matches the prefecture or city your customer base lives in.
Every country uses a different international exit code before the +81 Japan country code. From any mobile, the + symbol replaces the exit code automatically — so +81 3 1234 5678 works worldwide. Always drop the leading 0 from Japanese numbers (03 Tokyo → 3, 06 Osaka → 6, 090 mobile → 90) when dialing from abroad.
011011 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN011011 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN00110011 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN001001 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN001001 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN002002 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN001001 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN001001 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN001001 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN8 108 10 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN0000 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNN00 2100 21 81 NN NNNN NNNN+81 90 NNNN NNNNTip: Japanese mobile numbers always start with 070, 080, or 090 domestically (drop the leading 0 from abroad: 70/80/90). Landlines drop the leading 0 too (03 Tokyo → 3, 06 Osaka → 6). The full E.164 format is +81 [area or mobile prefix without 0] [local] — typically 12 digits total.
+81 reaches the world's 3rd-largest economy, the most discerning consumer market on Earth, and the apps that run Japanese daily life — LINE, PayPay, Mercari, Rakuten all expect a +81 mobile.
LINE (90% of Japan uses it), PayPay (60M users), Mercari (Japanese eBay), Rakuten, Yahoo! Japan + DoCoMo dPoints all require a +81 mobile for full verification. Foreign numbers face strict SMS-throttling.
+81 routes to the world's 5th-largest mobile market — ~200M subscriptions across NTT DoCoMo, KDDI au, SoftBank + Rakuten Mobile. Japan was the first country to mass-deploy 5G + the first major economy to hit 99% smartphone penetration.
A 03 prefix reads as central Tokyo — Marunouchi, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi. Japanese B2B buyers see "03" and assume HQ-level credibility. A 06 says Osaka commerce, an 075 says Kyoto premium.
All of Japan runs on Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9). No DST adjustments — Japan abolished DST after 1951. Your call window with Tokyo never shifts: 9-to-5 Tokyo time, year-round.
Japan's carriers maintain dedicated SMS gateways (DoCoMo SMS, au SMS, SoftBank SMS) with stricter sender-ID rules than most countries. A licensed +81 number reaches all 4 carriers + LINE's SMS layer without spam scoring.
If you work with Japanese gaming studios (Capcom, Square Enix, Bandai Namco), anime distributors (Toei, Kadokawa), or hardware OEMs (Nintendo, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp), a +81 line is treated 3-4x faster than a foreign +1 / +44 line.
Pick your area code — 03 Tokyo, 06 Osaka, 045 Yokohama, 052 Nagoya — and start calling, texting and receiving LINE + PayPay + Rakuten OTPs from Japanese customers.
Same six features come standard on every CallMama Japan number — no upsell tiers, no per-feature charges.
Route any incoming call to your real mobile, a teammate, or voicemail — by schedule, caller, or custom rule.
One-tap recording for client calls and consults. Files store securely in your dashboard for replay or download.
Decide which local number shows on outbound calls so contacts always see a familiar prefix.
Voicemails arrive as audio plus a written transcript in your inbox — read or listen, no missed message.
Send and receive text and image messages from your number — same line works on web, iOS, and Android.
Outbound calls to 200+ countries from the same app. Skip carrier roaming and international add-ons.
From "I want a Japan number" to making your first call — three taps and you're live.
Choose the area code or city prefix that matches where you sell.
Six-digit confirmation drops into the app. No documents to upload, no waiting room, no callbacks.
Your Japan line is live. Start dialing, texting, and being reached — exactly the way a local would.
Name, country code, ISO 3166 alpha-2 & alpha-3, exit code, and ITU zone. Filter by continent or search by name or code.
| Country | Code | ISO-2 | ISO-3 | Exit | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | +93 | AF | AFG | 00 | 9 |
| Albania | +355 | AL | ALB | 00 | 3 |
| Algeria | +213 | DZ | DZA | 00 | 2 |
| American Samoa | +1 | AS | ASM | 011 | 1 |
| Andorra | +376 | AD | AND | 00 | 3 |
| Angola | +244 | AO | AGO | 00 | 2 |
| Anguilla | +1 | AI | AIA | 011 | 1 |
| Antarctica | +672 | AQ | ATA | 00 | 6 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | +1 | AG | ATG | 011 | 1 |
| Argentina | +54 | AR | ARG | 00 | 5 |
| Armenia | +374 | AM | ARM | 00 | 3 |
| Aruba | +297 | AW | ABW | 00 | 2 |
| Australia | +61 | AU | AUS | 0011 | 6 |
| Austria | +43 | AT | AUT | 00 | 4 |
| Azerbaijan | +994 | AZ | AZE | 00 | 9 |
| Bahamas | +1 | BS | BHS | 011 | 1 |
| Bahrain | +973 | BH | BHR | 00 | 9 |
| Bangladesh | +880 | BD | BGD | 00 | 8 |
| Barbados | +1 | BB | BRB | 011 | 1 |
| Belarus | +375 | BY | BLR | 810 | 3 |
011 81 3 1234 5678 for Tokyo, 011 81 90 1234 5678 for a Japanese mobile. On any mobile, replace 011 with +.00 81 6 1234 5678 for an Osaka landline. Or use +81 3 1234 5678 from any UK mobile.0011 81 45 1234 5678 for Yokohama. Or use +81 90 1234 5678 from any Australian mobile.+81 [area or mobile prefix without 0] [local]. Example: +81 3 1234 5678 for Tokyo (03-1234-5678 domestic), +81 6 1234 5678 for Osaka, +81 90 1234 5678 for a mobile (090-1234-5678 domestic). Total length is 12 digits with +81.011 81... instead. They all route to the same Japanese destination.One tap to install. One more to call. It really is that simple.