On March 12th, some Wi-Fi providers in Japan started offering free connection after the devastating earthquake that hit northeast Japan on Friday afternoon.
Sofbank Mobile
Sofbank Mobile announced that they are completely opening up their public wireless LAN service “Softbank Wi-Fi Spot” for free. The connection is available for anyone who is in the service area, not limited to current Softbank customers. Softbank Wi-Fi Spot provides 54Mbps connectivity in select public locations such as restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops. Look for the WiFi Available sticker or BB Mobile Point sticker on storefronts.
To use, select “FON” network on any wireless LAN supported devices in one of their service locations.
Livedoor Wireless
Livedoor Wireless is also offering free Wi-Fi on March 12th and 13th. You can check the coverage area with their map.
The SSID for the open network is “free-online-ld” (no password required).
They also provide optional login IDs (01@free@lw / 03@free@lw / 03@free@lw) and password (livedoor) in case authentication is required by the device.
FON Japan
FON Japan also announced their effort to offer their network for free to support those who affected by the earthquake and their friends and families.
FON_FREE_INTERNET and other FON spots are entirely free until March 13th. For updates and possible extension of the dates, follow @fonjapan Twitter account.
See Also:
Naoko Takano
Skype also scraps fee for their international WiFi roaming service in Japan, and gives away 80 yen Skype Credit to their Japanese users.
http://blogs.skype.com/ja/2011/03/14/japan%20earthquake%20free%20wifi.html (Japanese)