Telcos in Japan boost disaster relief cooperation
Advancements include area allocation for evacuation shelter support.
As part of a continuing collaboration amongst telecommunications firms in Japan, new measures have taken effect to further expedite support when disasters strike.
Rolled out on 22 October 2025, the initiatives include a standardised information dissemination system and the strategic allocation of evacuation shelter support areas. These involve the following telcos:
- NTT, Inc.
- NTT EAST
- NTT WEST
- NTT DOCOMO
- NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS
- KDDI Corporation
- SoftBank Corp.
- Rakuten Mobile
To ensure that Japanese areas affected by disasters are urgently supported, telecom companies are allocated their respective evacuation shelter support areas as seen below.
Source: NTT
"In the event of a large-scale disaster, telecommunications carriers provide crucial support to affected areas, often deploying communication services for evacuation centres," NTT noted. "Previously, these efforts were conducted by the companies independently, sometimes leading to redundant resources and regional disparities in services.
"Under the new system, the eight companies aim to allocate evacuation shelter support areas amongst themselves to ensure that support, including communication services, can be delivered promptly to those in disaster-stricken areas.
"Additionally, by standardising the content of information dissemination and utilising a common logo for the evacuation shelter support areas provided by each telecommunications carrier, the companies will strive to make information more easy to understand for all stakeholders."
The new measures build upon the cooperative framework that was announced in December 2024 and complement the information-sharing system that was launched in July 2025. It has been clarified that support services that are provided to evacuation centres can be accessed by anyone irrespective of personal service contract.
