Earlier this year, TokyoDev founder Paul was at his local library when noticed a poster for a “Foreign Language Human Rights Hotline.” He was pleased to see that—until he noticed the phone number printed on the poster. It started with the number 0570.
That may not sound like much, but it adds up to 1980 yen per hour, which is significantly higher than Japan’s average minimum wage of 1064 yen. This means 0570 numbers can be a financial burden for those people who need help the most.
If you live in Japan, you’ve almost certainly run into 0570 numbers before. They’re typically used on customer support pages for banks, airlines, utility companies, etc. As Paul discovered, they’re also sometimes used on posters advertising services for people in need.
What’s the story behind these pricey 0570 numbers? Why are they so widespread, and why were they adopted in the first place? Most importantly, if you need to call one, how can you avoid racking up a huge phone bill?
- History: From FreeDial to NaviDial
- The problem for consumers
- Why is NaviDial still around?
- A comparison with other countries
- Practical advice for you
History: From FreeDial to NaviDial
The service behind these 0570 numbers is called NaviDial. To understand it better, we first need to understand its older sibling, FreeDial.
Toll-free calls in the 1980s
For many decades, Japan’s telephone infrastructure was run by a state-owned monopoly called Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation. In 1985, it was privatized and became the NTT that we know today. Later that year, NTT launched FreeDial, their service that uses the 0120 prefix.
With a normal phone call, you simply dial a number and get routed to a fixed physical terminal—nothing more, nothing less. When you call a 0120 number, it accesses NTT’s Intelligent Network, which intercepts and routes the call before connecting you. The routing is based on factors like your area code, the time of day, or how busy the lines are.
For example, a company might set up rules such as, “If it’s before 6 p.m., route the call to the Osaka branch. If it’s after 6 p.m., route it to Tokyo. And if both are full, put the caller in a queue and play hold music.”
FreeDial was a hit, and for good reason. The technology behind it was genuinely impressive for 1985, and it gives businesses several practical benefits like:
- A single national number instead of separate numbers for each regional office.
- Geographic routing that detects the caller’s area and routes them to the nearest call center.
- Load balancing across multiple call centers so no single one gets overwhelmed.
- Queue management, so that if all lines are busy, the caller is placed on hold with music instead of hitting a dead end.
- Providing useful data to operators, such as call volume by region/time, average wait times, etc.
- Vendor support and SLA guarantees from NTT, a massive corporation and highly-established brand name.
This was a big deal for large companies with offices scattered around the country. Businesses operating during the mid-80s economic bubble had the cash and were more than happy to cover the cost of customer calls. Having a 0120 number came with a bit of prestige too—it was a way for companies to signal that they were well-established.
That being said, the costs were no joke. Thriving economy or not, FreeDial was expensive to operate at scale, so only large corporations could afford it. Then the bubble burst.
Enter NaviDial
The 1990s marked the start of the Lost Decades. Companies no longer had the same financial means, and wanted to cut costs without giving up the technology they had become accustomed to.
For companies trying to reduce expenses, it was perfect. They could continue using the same technology as before, and keep the NTT branding and vendor support. NaviDial also had the added benefit of reducing the total number of incoming calls, by discouraging complaints from dissatisfied customers, prank, and spam calls.
The problem for consumers
The “caller pays for the call” rule might not sound that bad, but it has some negative consequences that aren’t immediately obvious.
This means you are paying for the entire duration of the session, including the time you are on hold, and the time you spend navigating automated menus with your number keys.
If you have access to a landline, calling from it costs 9.35 yen for every three minutes (about 3.12 yen per minute), which is perfectly reasonable. But if your only option is a mobile phone (which is the case for most people), the calling rates are 11 yen per 20 seconds, or 33 yen per minute—over ten times more than a landline. If you are put on hold and wait 20 minutes for an operator, that’s 660 yen before you’ve started speaking to a human.
Call centers certainly aim to answer as quickly as possible, but this can be unrealistic during peak hours. On Monday mornings or weekday lunch hours, it’s absolutely possible to be placed on hold for 20 to 30 minutes.
On top of that, even if you have a mobile plan with unlimited calling, that plan does not cover the costs of NaviDial calls. NTT sets the rates, and mobile carriers can’t include it in their plans even if they want to. So there’s no escape—if you need to call a 0570 number, you will be charged.
Unsurprisingly, Japanese consumers aren’t huge fans of NaviDial. Here are a few (paraphrased) comments I found on Japanese social media:
- “When I called to sign up for a service, it was a FreeDial number. Later when I called to cancel, the only option was a NaviDial number. It was super annoying, especially when they could have just provided an online form for cancellation.”
- “I called a customer support center that only provided a 0570 number, waited for 20 minutes, and they hung up on me.”
- “I understand that businesses want to lower costs and prevent spam or prank calls. And I don’t mind paying for the call. But it sucks that we have to pay for the time we spend just waiting for an operator.”
As mentioned earlier, NaviDial isn’t only common among businesses. It’s also used by public services, such as:
- Gas companies: “If you notice a gas leak, please call this 0570 number immediately!”
- Tokyo Labor Bureau Consultation and Support Office: This is a key contact point for workers having issues with work conditions, etc.
- Women’s Human Rights Hotline: This hotline uses a 0570 number despite handling serious issues like domestic or gender-based violence.
- Tokyo Suicide Prevention Hotline: I hope I don’t have to explain why this is problematic.
To be fair, public services operate on tight budgets and limited staff, and almost certainly aren’t using these numbers to be malicious. It’s still unfortunate that services designed to help vulnerable people are kept behind a paywall.
Why is NaviDial still around?
This is the big question. Alternative, open-source solutions like Asterisk and FreePBX have existed for decades, and have gained traction in other countries.
More recently, services like Twilio and Vonage help businesses set up routing and call center functionality by simply using their API’s, without needing any complicated hardware or contracts.
Even so, there are many reasons why Japanese companies haven’t replaced NaviDial.
Inertia
Companies and government organizations have built their workflows around 0570 numbers for decades. Those phone numbers are printed on physical documents, displayed on websites, and embedded in customer databases. Switching to a new system would require time and effort, not to mention technical expertise.
Solutions like Asterisk and FreePBX are used in Japan, but more by tech-savvy startups than large enterprises. Setting them up properly can be tough for Japanese enterprises due to the ongoing shortage of technical talent.
Conservative enterprise culture
Large enterprises tend to prefer systems backed by a vendor who can provide technical support, and be held accountable when things go wrong. NaviDial checks those boxes as it’s backed by NTT, the massive corporation that essentially built Japan’s modern phone infrastructure.
On the other hand, an open-source or API-based setup with no clear owner is often perceived by enterprises as risky.
Preference for trusted phone numbers
Cloud solutions like Twilio and Vonage do operate in Japan, but usually provide VoIP numbers using the 050 prefix. This is partly due to regulations set by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), which make it difficult to acquire “standard” phone numbers (such as land line prefixes like 03 for Tokyo or 06 for Osaka, or mobile prefixes such as 080 and 090).
The issue with 050 numbers is that they’re perceived as less trustworthy. Because they’re relatively easy to acquire, change, or delete, they’ve unfortunately been abused by telemarketers and scammers. Some banks and services even refuse customers trying to register with 050 numbers.
To use non-050 numbers, a business generally has to meet stricter numbering and carrier requirements than it would for a 050 number. Due to the heavy setup required, a large enterprise trying to get a standard number might find it more logical to just go straight to NTT.
050 numbers have gained traction among younger companies and startups, but many older enterprises still avoid them in favor of more established numbers–0570 being one of those.
Not enough pressure (yet)
Until fairly recently, Japanese consumers were dealing with an entirely different issue: brutally expensive mobile plans. Three companies—Softbank, Docomo, and AU—completely dominated the market and charged consumers between 7,000 to 10,000 yen per month for mobile contracts. Cancelling or switching to different carriers also incurred hefty fees. This was the norm until the late 2010s, and was likely a more pressing issue for consumers than NaviDial was.
The pain was widespread enough that the Japanese government introduced regulations to cut down the costs, and a wave of inexpensive MVNO services priced in the 1,000 to 3,000 yen range entered the market. Nowadays, consumers can choose from cheaper services like IIJmio, mineo, Ymobile, UQ Mobile, and Rakuten Mobile.
NaviDial hasn’t faced as much scrutiny yet. Consumers are indeed vocal about it, and some companies have responded by voluntarily publishing alternative 03 or 06 numbers alongside their 0570 lines. But there hasn’t yet been a movement with organized and sustained pressure to make things change.
A comparison with other countries
Japan certainly isn’t the only country to use paid numbers like 0570, but it normalized those numbers for mainstream use to a greater degree.
In the US, toll-free numbers using the 800 prefix were established in the 1960s and swiftly became the norm. Paid 900 numbers gained traction later on, but were mostly used for non-vital services like checking sports scores, horoscopes, weather updates, and fan call-in lines for TV shows.
Those 900 numbers started facing heavy regulation after a number of scandals in which children would call the numbers and rack up outrageous phone bills. Widespread access to the internet also made many of these services redundant. Eventually, 900 numbers became associated with only dodgy services like psychics, gambling tips, and adult chatlines.
The key difference here is that North America never normalized paid numbers for essential services, like banks and government agencies. Toll-free was always the expectation.
The UK initially operated more like Japan. 084 and 087 numbers were like NaviDial: used by businesses and paid for by callers. Those numbers were excluded from mobile minutes, and became widely used by both corporations and public services. Sounds familiar, right?
The difference is what happened next. In 2014, following a EU Consumer Rights Directive, the UK government banned the use of 084 and 087 numbers for customer service lines. Similar regulations were extended to banks and financial services in 2015. This forced businesses to switch to standard numbers.
Customer backlash was one of the major factors that triggered this decision. Japan hasn’t had an equivalent moment yet, which is why NaviDial remains common and unregulated.
Practical advice for you
If you’re an international resident in Japan and want to avoid paying NaviDial fees as much as possible, here’s what you can do:
- Keep an eye out for the 0570 prefix. Any number starting with that prefix, or any number labeled ナビダイヤル (nabi daiyaru) means you’ll be charged. You’re likely to see it when calling your bank, utility companies, airline customer support, or local government offices.
- You can hang up. If you accidentally dial a NaviDial number, you’ll first hear the “Connecting via NaviDial” (ナビダイヤルでおつなぎします, nabi daiyaru de otsunagi shimasu) announcement. Billing hasn’t started at this point, so you won’t be charged if you hang up during the announcement.
- Look for alternative numbers. Many companies are required to provide an alternative number for people calling from abroad, or from IP phones (which use the 050 prefix). If you’re looking at phone numbers on a website or flyer, there might be fine print saying “If you’re calling from an IP phone or from overseas, please dial: 03-xxxx-xxxx.” Assuming you have an unlimited calling plan, that number will be free to call.
- Try text-based support first. Many companies now offer support via LINE, web chat, chatbots, or inquiry forms. It’s slower, but if you can solve the issue via text, it won’t cost anything. It’s also much easier than calling if you’re not confident in spoken Japanese. Look for the “Inquiries” (お問い合わせ, otoiawase) or FAQ sections on company websites.
- If you have to call, be prepared. Have your customer ID, contract number, and any relevant dates or notes ready before you dial. If you’re not confident speaking Japanese, prepare a simple script or ask a Japanese-speaking friend to help. The goal is to reduce the call time as much as possible.
- Avoid peak hours. As mentioned earlier, phone lines get very congested on Monday mornings and weekday lunch hours (generally between 12:00 and 13:00). Try calling outside those hours if it’s an option.
- Use a landline if you can. If your workplace has a landline, ask if you can use it for a personal call, and be upfront about why. Not every company will allow this, but it’s worth trying if you’re concerned about the cost of calling from your mobile phone.
Final thoughts
NaviDial is an example of how infrastructure can outlive its original context. In 1997, it was a genuinely innovative service that solved a lot of problems for corporations while keeping costs affordable.
But the world has changed since then. Smartphones have replaced landlines in most contexts, and now that unlimited calling plans are standard, NaviDial’s pricey per-minute billing feels unfair. Plenty of alternative solutions have already been developed.
Will Japan see a UK-style moment where the existing system is abolished? Only time will tell. Perhaps the price hikes in October 2026 could be a trigger.
Until then, 0570 numbers are just a fact of life here. The best thing you can do is be aware of NaviDial, and know how to minimize the costs for yourself.
