Japan Telecom Giants Launch Unified Disaster Relief System for Faster Crisis Response

In order to further speed up disaster relief assistance to impacted areas after major disasters, Japan's eight telecom companies—Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, NTT East, NTT West, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS (the NTT Group), KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten Mobile—announced in July 2025 the launch of a cooperative information-sharing system.

As a component of the "Connect to Change" initiative, this system expands on the collaborative framework established on December 1, 2024, with the goal of guaranteeing the prompt restoration of communication networks in the event of major calamities.

Telecommunications companies offer vital assistance to impacted areas in the event of a major disaster, frequently setting up communication services for evacuation centers. In the past, these initiatives were carried out separately, which occasionally resulted in redundant resources and regional service inequalities. Through information exchange, this new method encourages teamwork, allowing carriers to coordinate their resources and provide prompt, fair, and all-encompassing assistance to individuals in need.

In addition to exchanging information, the eight businesses hope to improve collaboration going forward by allocating roles for evacuation center assistance. The businesses hope to help create a more sustainable society by increasing and expediting assistance to evacuation centers in disaster-affected areas.