Rollout of Japan's New 060 Mobile Numbers Pushed Back as Carriers Fall Behind on System Work

Japan's mobile carriers have put the brakes on the introduction of phone numbers starting with 060. The new prefix had been due to launch in July 2026, but the debut has now been postponed so the companies can finish the system updates the change requires.

The delay matters because Japan is running out of mobile numbers. Handsets in the country currently use numbers beginning with 090, 080 or 070, and roughly 270 million of those numbers are already in use or allocated. As of July 1, only about 4.6 million newly assignable numbers in the 070 range were still available — a thin remaining buffer given the scale of the market.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is pressing the carriers not to let the postponement drag on, urging them to begin offering the new numbers in phases by the end of the current fiscal year. The telecommunications companies have said they will publish a revised launch schedule once their preparatory work is finished.