NTT telephone services ran into trouble in Kumamoto Prefecture on Monday, September 28, 2026, with calls becoming difficult to connect, according to 熊本日日新聞社. The outlet attributed the problem to a concentration of call traffic.
The disruption was not limited to Kumamoto. Saga Prefecture also saw telephone service problems, and saga-s.co.jp reported that the cause appeared to be tied to the "Kyushu fukko oen wari," a recovery support discount for the region. Yahoo!ニュース, citing reporting from Saga, said reservations for the discount poured in to such a degree that fixed-line phones in the prefecture were affected, describing call volumes that exceeded expectations.
The timing points to the start of bookings for the program. TBS NEWS DIG reported that reservations for the Kyushu recovery support discount began at accommodation providers and travel agencies, with phones ringing without pause through the morning. 日テレNEWS NNN likewise linked the temporary difficulty in connecting fixed-line calls in Kumamoto and elsewhere to the discount, framing the cause as a question raised in its coverage.
Taken together, the reports describe a demand-driven strain on telephone networks rather than an infrastructure failure, though no operator statement was included in the available material. The discount is intended to support travel in the Kyushu region.
It remains to be seen whether call volumes ease as the initial booking rush passes, and whether NTT issues any formal statement on the scope of the disruption.
