Jew in London

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man was arrested this week after making 37,760 silent calls to directory inquiries because he wanted to listen to the "kind" voices of female telephone operators.

The 44-year-old has admitted to allegations of obstructing the operations of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. by making up to 905 calls a day from his mobile phone, the daily Mainichi Shimbun said on its Web site.

"When I made a complaint call once, the operator dealt with it very kindly, so I wanted to hear these women's voices," the paper quoted him as telling police in Hiroshima, western Japan.

Police believe the calls, made between March and July this year, caused psychological distress to more than 100 telephone operators, the Mainichi said.