Emergency Free Wi-Fi Service 00000JAPAN

Poste date: Tuesday, March 28, 2023

There are several types of natural disasters in Japan such as earthquakes, typhoons, and floods. During an emergency situation, having an Internet Connection is very important and can potentially save yourself and your family’s life.

With an internet connection, you can post or access information on social media networks (Twitter, Facebook, LINE, WhatsApp, Messenger etc) even when your celluar network connection does not work. It’s also very useful accessing the latest information about your area via radio or TV and many kinds of medias which you can watch/listen via internet.

In the event of a disaster, you can use a Free Wi-Fi Connection called 00000JAPAN (Five Zero Japan).

What is 00000JAPAN (Five Zero Japan) and Where to Find it

Image from Wireless LAN Business Promotion Association

“00000JAPAN” (Five Zero Japan) is a Free Wi-Fi Service which is open to the public and can be used by anyone in the event of a disaster.

It’s only accessible during a disaster in specific areas. The connection is provided by Japanese mobile phone carriers such as Docomo, AU and Softbank.

To find 00000Japan’s connection, you need to go to an area where there are public wireless LAN spots installed by mobile phone carriers. The spots are normally at major stations, public facilities, and commercial area where people gather (e.g. shopping malls, community centers, major cafes, restaurants, airports, convenient stores etc.).

Click here to watch the official explanation on YouTube.

How to Use 00000JAPAN (Five Zero Japan)

When 00000Japan is accessible to the public, go to an area where it’s available (example places are mentioned above). Then you will be able find the SSID (Service Set Identifier) “00000JAPAN” in your Wi-Fi setting. Simply select the “00000JAPAN” network with your device then your device will be automatically connected to the Wi-Fi.

As it’s open to everyone, the authentication and encryption are not performed. It’s important to take precautions to protect your personal information while using the connection.

00000Japan’s Security Considerations

As 00000JAPAN is only for emergency situations, the connection is open to everyone. This means that the connection is not secure. There is a risk of having person information stolen so don’t use the connection for Internet Banking or any shopping sites which require personal information, ID's or passwords.

If you need to type in sensitive information, use a mobile VPN or your mobile cellular connection once it becomes available.

Beware of Fake SSIDs

What is more important is that people can create a FAKE 00000JAPAN SSID because it’s not limited to only communication carriers. It is also possible for a malicious person to set up and operate a wireless LAN access point with the same SSID of 00000JAPAN using tethering or a mobile Wi-Fi router.

It will be very difficult to know which is fake or genuine, therefore it’s very important not to input any important data or personal information while using the 00000JAPAN wifi connection.

There may also be other Fake SSIDs such as oooooJAPAN (using o instead of the number zero) or 000000JAPAN (0x6 instead of 5), instead of 00000JAPAN. It can be confusing and in the event of disaster, there is a high risk that you may choose the fake SSID by mistake.

Important Things to Do After Using 00000JAPAN

It’s also important to DELETE the network when it’s no longer necessary so that your phone doesn't automatically connect to it without your permission.

For iPhone users, go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi” > “Tap i Button” > “Delete this network setting”.

Please don’t forget to cancel the “automatic connection” (Auto-Join) to avoid a situation where your device will choose to connect to the 00000JAPAN wifi automatically without you realizing.