Voicemail records and stores callers' voice messages when you're unavailable for later playback. Unlike traditional answering machines that record on the phone itself, voicemail stores messages on carrier servers, enabling recording even when the device is powered off.
Major Japanese carriers offer voicemail. As of 2026, Docomo's "Answering Service," au's "Answering Service EX," and SoftBank's "Answering Plus" each cost 330 yen per month (tax included). iPhone's "Visual Voicemail" displays a message list for selective playback, far more convenient than sequential listening.
Voicemail is effective against special fraud. Routing unknown numbers to voicemail avoids direct contact with scam callers. Legitimate callers leave messages, providing information for callback decisions. The National Police Agency recommends "not answering unknown numbers and using voicemail instead."
Voicemail-to-text transcription spread from the late 2010s onward. iPhone's iOS 17+ and Google Pixel's "Call Screening" convert voice messages to text, allowing content review without listening. See voicemail setup guide for configuration instructions.