"This is the 6:00 a.m. weather forecast for the Tokyo region from the Central Weather Observatory." The well-known words first reach Tokyo telephones on an experimental telephone weather line on September 1, 1953. The service is first planned as a commercial experiment, but because it coincides with the start of the typhoon season the first-day response is an overwhelming 10,000 calls. A special '222' phone number is assigned to the service and full operation begins on September 22. The present '177' number is adopted later, and the service now provides highly accurate forecasts from weather satellites.

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