In brief
NTT Docomo Inc. announced a nationwide outage starting around 11:18 a.m. Thursday, disabling voice calls, mobile data, and texting. The carrier also halted its online shop and customer portal earlier in the day after a suspected unauthorized server access, and is still probing whether the breach triggered the outages.
NTT Docomo Inc. reported that a major network outage began around 11:18 a.m. on Thursday, leaving voice calls, mobile data and texting unstable across Japan. The disruption also affected services provided by other mobile operators that rely on Docomo’s network. The company said it was checking whether emergency calls were impacted.
Earlier that morning, at about 1:05 a.m., Docomo suspended its online shop and My docomo customer portal after concluding that an outside party had likely gained unauthorized access to its servers. The suspension blocked customers from signing up for mobile plans, checking bills or changing contracts.
Potential Link Between Cyber Incident and Service Outage
Docomo is still investigating whether the suspected unauthorized access caused the widespread service disruptions. The telecom carrier has not confirmed a direct connection but said the two incidents may be related.
Customers experiencing the outage can contact Docomo’s customer service for updates, while the company continues to monitor the situation and work to restore full service.
