Japan: Aichi Prefecture city rolls out new pay phones in disaster-prevention move

The city of Tahara in Aichi Prefecture is bringing back public pay phones in response to widespread mobile phone disruptions following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, reports Japan Times. In the March 11, 2011 earthquake, communication facilities were destroyed by tsunami and the concentration of calls from the area caused disruptions to up to 90 percent of transmissions via fixed lines and mobile phones. As a result, people who wanted to confirm the safety of their loved ones or make an emergency call rushed to public pay phones.

“The most important thing in times of disasters is to ensure communication. It’s good that citizens have realized the benefit of having pay phones, which has led to more being installed. Hopefully it can also lead to more discussions on society’s infrastructure,” said Nobuo Fukuwa from the Nagoya University Disaster Mitigation Research Center.