business phone · 7 min read
How to Call Japan from the US
Dial 011 + 81 + area code (drop leading 0) + local number to call Japan from the US. Tokyo, Osaka, mobile prefixes, JST time zone, and VoIP rates covered.
To call Japan from the US, dial 011 + 81 + area code (drop leading 0) + local number.
Tokyo example: 011-81-3-XXXX-XXXX. Mobile example: 011-81-90-XXXX-XXXX. The 011 is the US exit code; 81 is Japan’s country code; the leading 0 of the Japanese number is always dropped.
This guide covers area codes for major Japanese cities, JST time zone math, mobile versus landline dialing, calling costs, SMS, and the STIR/SHAKEN authentication angle for US–Japan business calls.
How to dial Japan from the US
The full sequence has four parts:
- Dial 011 — the US international exit code. Every outbound international call from a US landline starts here. From a US mobile, you can press and hold
0to enter+, which substitutes for 011. - Dial 81 — Japan’s country code, assigned by the ITU.
- Dial the Japanese area code without its leading 0. Tokyo is written
03nationally; you dial3. Osaka is written06; you dial6. - Dial the local subscriber number in full.
The complete pattern: 011 81 <area code minus leading 0> <local number>.
If you already have the number in E.164 format (e.g. +81 3 XXXX XXXX), replace + with 011 from a landline, or dial it as-is from a US mobile. Both reach the same destination.
Japanese area codes by major city
Japan’s area codes are set by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the successor to the former MPHPT. NTT historically dominated the landline network; KDDI and SoftBank are the main competitors.
| City | National prefix | Dial after 011-81 |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 03 | 3 |
| Osaka | 06 | 6 |
| Yokohama | 045 | 45 |
| Nagoya | 052 | 52 |
| Kyoto | 075 | 75 |
| Kobe | 078 | 78 |
| Sapporo | 011 | 11 |
| Fukuoka | 092 | 92 |
| Hiroshima | 082 | 82 |
| Sendai | 022 | 22 |
Tokyo and Osaka use two-digit area codes (3 and 6 after dropping the 0); all other major cities use three-digit area codes (written with a leading 0, which you drop).
Mobile prefixes: Japanese mobiles use 070, 080, and 090. VoIP/IP-based numbers use 050. All follow the same rule — drop the leading 0 before dialing from the US.
How Japanese phone numbering works
Japanese national numbers are ten digits long for landlines and eleven digits for mobiles (including the trunk 0). The trunk prefix 0 signals a domestic call and is stripped for international dialing.
Area codes range from two to five digits depending on the region. Tokyo’s short 03 area code reflects historical telephone density. Rural areas have longer area codes and shorter local subscriber numbers. Together, area code plus local number always total ten digits (excluding the trunk 0).
The MIC administers number allocation under the Telecommunications Business Act. Unlike the US, Japan does not operate a single national numbering authority like the NANPA — assignments flow directly through MIC ministry ordinances.
NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) built the legacy public switched network. KDDI (formerly DDI and KDD) and SoftBank (formerly Vodafone Japan) operate the main mobile networks alongside NTT Docomo.
Time zones — Japan Standard Time (JST)
Japan observes a single time zone, JST (UTC+9), year-round. There is no daylight saving time.
| US time zone | Offset from JST |
|---|---|
| Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−4) | JST is 13 hours ahead |
| Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC−5) | JST is 14 hours ahead |
| Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, UTC−7) | JST is 16 hours ahead |
| Pacific Standard Time (PST, UTC−8) | JST is 17 hours ahead |
Best window for same-day business overlap: 8–10 PM Eastern (EDT) = 9–11 AM next morning in Tokyo. If you are on the US West Coast, 5–7 PM PDT = 9–11 AM Tokyo. Outside this window, one party is outside business hours.
Because Japan has no DST, the offset shifts by one hour when the US moves between EDT and EST in November and March.
US to Japan calling costs
Calling Japan from a US line costs more than a domestic call, but the spread between options is large.
Carrier per-minute (no international plan): typically $0.20–$3.00 per minute to Japanese landlines. Mobile destinations may cost more. Check your carrier’s published international rate table — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all publish Japan-specific per-minute rates.
Carrier international add-on packages: monthly packages ($5–$25/month range) reduce per-minute costs to roughly $0.10–$0.50 per minute to Japan. Worthwhile if you call more than a few hours a month.
VoIP per-minute rates: consistently the cheapest option for regular Japan callers. DialPhone’s business phone platform routes US-to-Japan calls over optimized SIP paths. No monthly Japan-specific add-on; Japan calling is included in per-minute VoIP rates.
For businesses — automotive supplier liaisons, electronics sourcing teams, gaming publishers with Japan studio relationships — VoIP pays back its cost quickly versus carrier add-ons. See DialPhone pricing for current Japan calling rates.
Calling Japanese mobile vs landline
The dialing format is identical for Japanese mobiles and landlines — always 011 + 81 + number minus leading 0. The differences are cost and context.
Mobiles (070/080/090): Most calls to Japanese business contacts go to mobile numbers. Japanese executives typically publish keitai (mobile) numbers as primary contact. Per-minute costs to mobiles are often slightly higher than to landlines on carrier plans; VoIP rates are usually flat across both.
VoIP-registered lines (050): Many Japanese businesses use 050-prefix lines registered on IP PBX platforms. These are dialed identically — 011-81-50-XXXX-XXXX — and generally cost the same as other mobile destinations.
Landlines (03, 06, etc.): Fixed-line offices, banks, and government agencies. Slightly lower per-minute cost on most carrier plans.
SMS to Japan and US-Japan business use cases
Standard SMS to Japanese mobile numbers (070/080/090) works from US carriers and most VoIP platforms, including DialPhone. Delivery is reliable for DoCoMo, SoftBank, and au (KDDI) subscribers on modern handsets.
Note on Japanese messaging culture: Line (the app) dominates messaging in Japan for consumer communications. For US–Japan B2B, SMS and email remain standard. Sending an introductory SMS before a call is accepted practice in cross-border business development.
Key US–Japan business verticals where calling volume is high:
- Automotive: Toyota, Honda, and Subaru US supplier teams call Japanese engineering and procurement offices daily.
- Electronics and semiconductors: US procurement teams communicate with Japanese component suppliers (Murata, TDK, Kyocera).
- Gaming and media: US publishers with Japan studio relationships (Sony, Nintendo licensees) coordinate via voice and SMS.
- Financial services: FX desks at major banks maintain direct lines between New York and Tokyo trading floors.
For these verticals, a DialPhone business phone account with an included Japan calling rate eliminates the friction of carrier add-on plans and works across desktop, mobile, and the AI receptionist for inbound handling. If you are also porting existing numbers, the process works for both US and international DIDs.
STIR/SHAKEN and Japan business calling
STIR/SHAKEN is the FCC-mandated call-authentication framework that digitally signs outbound calls to verify the caller ID is legitimate. It reduces the risk that your business calls are labeled “Spam?” on recipient handsets.
For US-to-Japan calls, STIR/SHAKEN attestation originates on the US network. Japanese carriers have not yet deployed a reciprocal signing framework, so attestation does not propagate to the Japanese endpoint. However, the signing still matters: Japanese recipients calling back to a US number benefit from the trust chain, and US-based staff receiving return calls from Japan get full attestation on the inbound leg.
DialPhone’s business phone platform fully supports STIR/SHAKEN signing for all US-originated outbound calls, including Japan-bound traffic. This protects your brand caller ID and reduces call blocking — relevant for automotive, electronics, and gaming companies making high-volume Japan outreach. See the sibling guide for UK calling for how the same framework applies to transatlantic calls.
FAQ
Calling Japan FAQ
What is the country code for Japan?
Japan's country code is +81. From a US landline or mobile, dial the US exit code 011 first, giving you the prefix 011 81, followed by the Japanese area code (drop the leading 0) and the local number.
From a US mobile that supports E.164 dialing, you can substitute + for 011 and dial +81 followed by the number.
Do I drop the leading 0 when calling Japan from the US?
Yes. Japanese numbers are written with a leading 0 in national format — for example, Tokyo landlines appear as 03-XXXX-XXXX and mobiles as 090-XXXX-XXXX. That leading 0 is the Japan trunk prefix, used only for domestic calls inside Japan.
When calling from the US, replace it with 011 81. So 03-1234-5678 becomes 011-81-3-1234-5678, and 090-1234-5678 becomes 011-81-90-1234-5678.
How do I call a Japanese mobile from the US?
Japanese mobiles start with 070, 080, or 090 in national format (050 for VoIP-based numbers). The 0 is the trunk prefix — drop it when calling internationally.
Dial 011 + 81 + the remaining digits. For example, 090-1234-5678 becomes 011-81-90-1234-5678. The call routes identically to a landline; only the carrier cost may differ.
What time is it in Japan when it is 9 AM Eastern?
Japan Standard Time (JST) is UTC+9 and observes no daylight saving time. When it is 9 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4), it is 10 PM JST the same day.
When it is 9 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5), it is 11 PM JST. The US business day and Japan's business day overlap for roughly one hour when the US is in EDT — best exploited by calling Japan from 8–10 PM ET.
How much does it cost to call Japan from the US?
Costs vary significantly by method. US carrier per-minute rates to Japan run roughly $0.20–$3.00 per minute without an international plan. Carrier international add-on packages reduce that to about $0.10–$0.50 per minute.
VoIP services including DialPhone charge flat per-minute rates that are generally well below carrier add-on pricing, with no minimum monthly commitment. For teams calling Japan regularly, VoIP is the most cost-effective option.
Why does my call to Japan fail to connect?
The most common reasons are: leaving the leading 0 in the Japanese number after dialing 011 81, forgetting the 011 exit code entirely, dialing in local Japanese format rather than E.164, or having international calling disabled on your US line.
Most US carriers disable international calling by default for fraud control — enable it in your account portal before dialing. Then retry in strict 011 + 81 + number-minus-leading-zero format.
Can I send SMS to a Japanese mobile from the US?
Yes, with caveats. Standard SMS delivery to Japanese mobiles (070/080/090) works from most US carriers and VoIP platforms, but delivery rates vary by carrier pair.
Japanese carriers historically used proprietary email-based messaging (carrier-domain email addresses like @docomo.ne.jp) rather than SMS. Modern handsets support standard SMS, but some older corporate lines may not. WhatsApp and LINE are widely used in Japan for cross-border messaging.
What is STIR/SHAKEN and does it affect US-Japan calls?
STIR/SHAKEN is the FCC-mandated call authentication framework that digitally signs outbound calls to combat spoofing. It operates on US carrier networks and attests the caller ID presented matches an authorized originating number.
For US-to-Japan calls, STIR/SHAKEN attestation travels with the call as far as the US network allows. Japanese carriers do not yet implement STIR/SHAKEN natively, so attestation data may not propagate end-to-end. DialPhone's business phone platform supports full STIR/SHAKEN signing for calls originating in the US, giving recipients on US numbers maximum trust signals.
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About the author
Growth Operations Lead at DialPhone
Darshan leads Growth Operations at DialPhone, where he owns three interconnected programs: the comparison content operation, the open VoIP Pricing Dataset, and the test-call methodology used to verify every pricing claim published on the site.
His research process starts with hands-on product trials and live vendor quotes — not marketing pages. Pricing figures are cross-checked against actual invoices and re-verified on a rolling quarterly cycle, with the underlying dataset kept public for independent re-verification. That dataset now covers 40+ VoIP and virtual-number providers across the US and Canada market.
Darshan also leads DialPhone's AI receptionist evaluation program, running structured test-call scenarios across English, Spanish, and French to assess transcription accuracy, intent routing, and escalation behavior. Methodology notes and raw scoring are archived in the research section.
For factual corrections or dataset discrepancies, Darshan can be reached at the DialPhone editorial address. Verified corrections are published as errata with a changelog date — no silent edits.