October 21, 2025
TOKYO – A new smartphone app feature that blocks suspicious calls from overseas has been developed by the Metropolitan Police Department amid a surge in phone fraud originating outside Japan.
The new feature will be added to Digi Police, the MPD’s official crime prevention app, from December. Police are encouraging its use across all age groups.
So-called special fraud has expanded at a record pace this year. According to the National Police Agency, the damage incurred from January to June totaled ¥59.7 billion, about 2.6 times the amount for the same period last year.
The number of calls used in these scams reached 63,966 in total, with 47,005 of them — or 70% — made from overseas.
The newly developed feature will mute the ringtone or vibration of calls from international numbers not contained in the user’s contact list. It can be utilized by downloading the Digi Police app and activating the blocking feature.
Whether call logs are displayed depends on the device’s operating system. Smartphone users can choose for them to be displayed on Google’s Android, while call logs are displayed by default on the Apple iOS used in iPhones.
For iPhones, the feature also mutes calls from domestic numbers that are not saved in the user’s contact list.
“Simply not answering international calls can significantly prevent harm,” a senior MPD official said. “iPhone users may experience some inconvenience, but we still encourage them to consider using this function.”