Hawaiian Telcom and three cell phone carriers have announced that customers will not be charged for calls to Japan over the next few weeks.

Hawaiian Telcom announced yesterday that its residential home phone customers may make free phone calls to Japan through April 15. Free calling is retroactive to March 11, the date in Hawaii when the earthquake and tsunami struck.

"Hawaii’s people have always had a strong connection to Japan — for many local residents, Japan was once home," said Eric Yeaman, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Telcom.

Here is what other carriers announced:

>> AT&T: Free calls and texts to Japan from March 11 to 31. Residential landline customers are also eligible for up to 60 minutes of direct-dial calling to Japan during that time.

>> Verizon Wireless: Free calls, texts and multimedia messages to Japan from March 11 to April 10.

>> Mobi PCS: Free calls to Japan through March 31.