Three-minute phone call day!

Today, and January 30th annually, is “Three‑Minute Telephone Day” (3分間電話の日). It commemorates the 1970 change in Japan’s public‑phone system. On this day NTT’s predecessor, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, shifted local call fees to “10 yen for 3 minutes.” Until then, a single 10‑yen coin allowed unlimited call time, so the new rule was introduced to curb excessively long conversations.

At that point in history, neither telephone cards nor the later “yellow phones” (pictured) existed. The yellow phones were introduced in 1972 and were eventually replaced with the public phones you can still see today.  Back in 1970 I believe the public phones were blue. They were introduced in 1972 and enabled long‑distance dialing.

The yellow phone that is pictured accepted 100‑yen coins but offered no change, leading to the joking phrase “100‑yen moshi‑moshi, no change den‑den.” Telephone cards would not appear until 1982. The day also connects to other telecom‑related anniversaries, such as Telephone Founding Day and Public Telephone Day, reflecting the evolution of Japan’s communication culture.