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IrelandJapan's government offices turn to phones as Microsoft email fails
The outage leaves thousands of prefectural staff unable to exchange emails, while some office workers head home before dark.
JapanStory of Why this story? One of 日テレNEWS's most watched videos since yesterday, with 150,772 views.
日テレNEWS: The news division of Nippon TV, a Japanese commercial television network. 3.4M subscribers and 6.4B views.
【マイクロソフト大規模障害】影響各所で…街の人からは“メール使えない”“仕事が止まる”と困惑の声「明るいうちに帰れちゃいました｣とも
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Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:00Shinbashi workers describe blocked client communications; an airport interview then demonstrates Outlook freezing on two devices.
- 1:19Around 7,500 Mie government staff lose email access, while Miyazaki employees also switch to telephone calls.
- 2:56Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara says ministries have been instructed to respond and limit disruption to daily life.
- 3:15Microsoft attributes the outage to unavailable servers overloading remaining infrastructure and says there is no evidence of a cyberattack.
- 3:40Evening interviews find workers heading home early; the report ends with partial recovery but no full-restoration timetable.
At Mie's prefectural government offices, the phones became a fallback for an email system that would not work. Around 7,500 staff were unable to send or receive messages, disrupting timely communication with residents, Japan's Nippon Television News (日テレNEWS) reports.
Its November 13 report follows the Microsoft outage from morning uncertainty to an unexpectedly early finish for some workers. In Tokyo's Shinbashi district, an insurance agent worries about explaining the problem to clients, while a real estate worker describes communication breaking down and work stopping.
At Osaka International Airport, a businessman demonstrates the problem on both his laptop and smartphone: Outlook's screen freezes, leaving him unable to proceed.
The disruption also reaches Miyazaki's prefectural government, where employees turn to telephone calls. Satoshi Tsue, deputy director of its Digital Promotion Division, explains that staff must narrow down the information they convey verbally. It is a practical limitation of replacing written exchanges with calls, not simply a change of device.
The report identifies problems across Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook email, Teams chat and the Copilot AI assistant, as well as government IT infrastructure. Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara says the prime minister has instructed ministries to respond and promises efforts to minimize the impact on daily life.
Microsoft's explanation, relayed in the report, is that several servers unexpectedly became unavailable, overloading the remaining infrastructure. The company says it has found no evidence suggesting a cyberattack.
By evening, the Shinbashi interviews capture another consequence: workers leaving while it is still light because little could move forward without email. A manufacturing sales representative describes discovering just how completely the day's work depended on it.
The report closes with partial signs of recovery but no projected time for full restoration. A subsequent morning bulletin says Microsoft considers services in Japan relatively stable, though recovery is still incomplete.
A Japanese politician from the Liberal Democratic Party who serves in the House of Representatives. He previously held foreign affairs posts and served as deputy chief cabinet secretary.
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- Channel
- 日テレNEWS
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- Channel views, last 7 days
- 54,615,634
- Channel views, pace per day
- 7,470,213 (on a normal day: 7,704,075)
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- November 13, 2026
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- 150,772 (less than a day online)
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The numbers
The report drew about 151,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Japan's most-watched new news videos.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which Microsoft service is identified as an AI assistant in the report?
The report lists Copilot as Microsoft's AI assistance service, alongside Outlook email and Teams chat.