The Noto Peninsula earthquake revealed a disadvantage brought about by the widespread use in cellphones.

In some areas of Ishikawa Prefecture, cellphone and landline services were disconnected for several days after the Jan. 1 quake. And the only way victims could communicate with the outside world was through public payphones.

But with more people using cellphones across the country, the number of public payphones has shrunk because their low daily usage rate makes them unprofitable.

Public payphones were difficult to find after the quake. And in some stricken areas, even city officials did not know about available ones.

In the Awagura district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, Hiroshi Matsutani quickly learned about the problem.

Matsutani, 65, took shelter at a junior high school that served as an evacuation center following the earthquake. The shaking had cut off roads, leaving Awagura isolated, and survivors there could not get a cellphone signal.

Matsutani wanted to inform his eldest daughter, who lives in Ehime Prefecture, that he was OK. Others also sought to contact their loved ones.

“Can’t we use that?” an evacuee said, motioning toward a community center that has the only payphone in the area.

When Matsutani went to the community center, about 10 people were already waiting in line for the phone. 

His daughter expressed relief when he got through to her.

Matsutani hung up the phone after about a minute, like everybody else, so that as many quake victims as possible could use the service.

According to residents in the area, both cellphones and land lines were out of service for several days after the disaster due to power outages and other factors.

At times, up to 40 people were waiting in line at the payphone.

Public phones are given priority in terms of connectivity in the event of a disaster.

The central government has mandated that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp. (NTT East) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp. (NTT West) install a certain number of public phones as an essential service for people’s lives.

At the peak in fiscal 1984, there were about 934,000 public payphones nationwide. By fiscal 2022, the number had decreased by more than 80 percent to around 121,000.

The communications ministry in 2021 issued an opinion to ease the NTT phone-installation requirement from 109,000 units to 27,000.

NTT East and NTT West are also expected to further reduce the total number of public phones to around 30,000 by the end of fiscal 2031.

In their place, “public telephones for disasters” have become increasingly popular since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

When requested by local governments, NTT East and West lay phone lines to community centers, elementary and junior high schools, and other facilities that serve as evacuation centers. Telephones are stored inside these buildings.

If a disaster strikes, the administrators of the building can use the phones free of charge simply by connecting them to the lines. Around 88,000 units have been installed nationwide.

However, there are some problems, including a lack of awareness.

In Wajima, public telephones placed at two locations, including a community center, were not used after the earthquake.

“We are not aware of the existence of these phones and do not know where they are stored,” a city official said. “We would like to make sure that all city employees are aware of the existence of these phones so that they can use them in case of emergency.”

Hitoshi Mitomo, a professor at the Graduate School of Waseda University who specializes in information and telecommunications policy, said, “There is a certain need for public telephones, but the number of phones required to be installed is not based on the assumption that they will be used in a disaster.”

He also noted that these phones are rarely used on a daily basis, and their reduction in number will likely continue.

“To ensure that public phones are used during disasters, people should know how to use them, for example, during disaster drills,” Mitomo said.

(This article was written by Miu Yamada, Shigeo Hirai and Takeshi Shimawaki.)