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Japan Adds 060 Prefix to Mobile Numbers
Japan introduced the 060 mobile phone prefix on July 1, 2026. The change expands available numbers from 270 million to 360 million as existing prefixes near exhaustion.
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Japan added the mobile phone number prefix 060 on July 1, 2026, Japan Times reported. The move expands the pool of available numbers from 270 million to 360 million. All numbers beginning with 090 and 080 have already been assigned.
As of June 30, 2026, 4.7 million numbers starting with 070 remained available. Mobile operators are now preparing to issue numbers under the new prefix. Japan changed its mobile numbers from 10 digits to 11 digits in 1999.
The 090 prefix was introduced first after that change, followed by 080 in 2002 and 070 in 2013. The expected shortage stems from rising numbers of people who own multiple phones for personal and work use, Japan Times reported.
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