Green NTT Payphone with Telephone Card Slot, Tokyo

NTT operates most of Japan's remaining public payphones, and the green models like this one are the standard analog type found on streets and in stations nationwide. They accept both coins and prepaid telephone cards, a payment method that dates back to the 1980s and remains in limited use today. By law, NTT must maintain at least one payphone per roughly 1,000 people in a given area, a rule tied to their role as backup infrastructure during disasters, when mobile networks often become overloaded or fail. Unlike mobile calls, payphone lines are prioritized on the network during emergencies, which is why the units display quick-dial buttons for the police (110) and fire and ambulance services (119). Domestic and international calls are supported, though international dialing is restricted to card payment only, as d on the unit's display.

Photo taken in March 2023.