| Name | Pink Large Scale Phone |
| Date | 1972 |
| Manufacturer | Tamura Electric Works for NTT |
Development of the Pink Large Scale Phone
| Introduced during the early 1970s, this larger Japanese “pink phone” represented a major evolution of the privately operated public telephone system that had become deeply woven into everyday life across Japan. Manufactured for the Japanese telecommunications authority by Tamura Electric Works, the model combined the familiar role of the earlier shop-based pink telephone with new direct-dial long-distance capability. Unlike the earlier small pink phones intended mainly for local calls, this redesigned version could handle the expanding nationwide subscriber trunk dialling network that transformed Japanese communications during the postwar economic boom. The new model appeared following the introduction of Japan’s “wide area time-based calling” system on 12 November 1972, which calculated charges according to call duration rather than simple local distance zones. For local calls, the telephone accepted a 10-yen coin every three minutes, while long-distance calls required additional timed payments. Installed in restaurants, cafés, small hotels, apartment buildings and neighbourhood shops, the phones allowed business owners to provide public telephone access while receiving a small commission. Finished in its distinctive soft pink casing with a sculptural rounded form, the telephone became an instantly recognisable feature of Japanese urban culture. Pink phones frequently appeared in Japanese films, manga, television dramas and anime of the 1970s and 1980s, often symbolising everyday neighbourhood life, youthful romance, or late-night calls from cafés and corner shops. Today they remain among the most nostalgic and beloved icons of Japan’s analogue communications era. |
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