Japan has the highest fax usage per capita of any country in the world. Roughly one in three Japanese households still owns a fax machine -- a higher penetration rate than gaming consoles -- and businesses across virtually every sector continue to rely on fax as a core communication tool. While other developed nations have gradually moved away from fax, Japan's relationship with the technology remains remarkably strong, rooted in cultural practices and institutional habits that go far deeper than simple technological inertia.
A key factor behind Japan's fax culture is the country's longstanding preference for paper-based documentation and physical stamps. The hanko -- a personal seal used in place of a handwritten signature -- remains a standard requirement for contracts, bank accounts, government registrations, and everyday business transactions. Because so many processes are built around physical documents and stamps, fax fits naturally into existing workflows in a way that purely digital alternatives do not. Older generations in particular remain more comfortable writing by hand on paper and faxing it than composing messages on a screen.
The institutional reliance on fax runs deep. Elementary schools routinely communicate with parents by fax, sending absence notices and administrative updates. Hospitals and clinics use fax to transmit patient records and referrals. Courts and police departments rely on fax for confidential materials. Government offices at every level -- municipal, prefectural, and national -- maintain active fax lines for official correspondence. In 2021, the Japanese government announced plans to eliminate fax machines from government departments as part of a broader digital transformation effort. The initiative was quickly scaled back after hundreds of government offices responded that the change would be "impossible" given their current workflows.
Japanese businesses mirror this pattern. Order forms, invoices, purchase confirmations, and internal communications still frequently travel by fax, particularly in small and medium enterprises, traditional industries, and companies dealing with domestic clients who expect fax-based correspondence. The security argument also carries significant weight: many Japanese institutions view phone-line transmission as more trustworthy than cloud-based systems, and the physical nature of a faxed document is perceived as more reliable than a digital file.
That said, change is underway. The Digital Agency, established in 2021, is working to modernize government systems and reduce dependence on legacy technologies. Digital Minister Taro Kono has been a vocal advocate for reform, and by 2024 the government had made over 10,000 datasets machine-readable. Japan also eliminated the last remaining floppy disk requirements for government submissions in mid-2024. Cloud-based fax services and online fax solutions are gaining traction in the private sector, offering businesses a way to maintain fax-based workflows while integrating with digital systems -- a transition that aligns with Japan's gradual but steady move toward digital infrastructure.
For anyone needing to send a fax to Japan, correct number formatting is essential. Japan's country code is +81, and the leading zero of the area code must be dropped when dialing internationally. For example, a Tokyo number beginning with 03 becomes +81 3 followed by the local number. For detailed formatting instructions, see our guide on how to send an international fax online.
JustFax Online makes it simple to send a fax to Japan from anywhere in the world. Upload your document -- PDF, PNG, JPEG, or TIFF -- enter the Japanese fax number with the +81 country code, and send. No account, no subscription, no app required. You pay a flat rate for the first four pages, with additional pages priced separately. If delivery fails after all retry attempts, you are not charged. To get started, see our step-by-step guide to sending a fax online.