Japan’s NTT East to Launch Call-rejection Service for Calls from Specific Countries

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:33 JST, October 6, 2023

NTT East Corp. is to establish a new service that will allow local governments roiled by nuisance calls to reject all phone communications from specific countries, the company said.

Some local governments have reported negative effects on their operations due to crank calls from overseas following the ocean release of treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.

The anti-nuisance call system was developed by Tobira Systems Inc., an information technology company, for corporate customers.

The free service will be available to affected local government offices through the end of March in response to a large number of bothersome calls thought to be from China in the wake of the initial release of the treated water. Applications will be accepted until the end of January.

At the end of August, NTT East set up a customer center aimed at dealing with such calls and disseminated information regarding the service, which includes displaying a caller’s number.

With the nuisance calls showing no signs of abating, the company is stepping up its efforts to combat the problem.