A radio communication apparatus includes: a first communication unit having a first communication coverage including a short-distance portion and a long-distance portion; a second communication unit having a second communication coverage including at least the long-distance portion; a reception detecting unit detecting that a short-distance communication request transmitted from a first communication unit of an other communication apparatus has been received by at least one of the first and second communication units; a determining unit permitting the request when the request is received by the first communication unit and not received by the second communication unit, and rejecting the request when the request is received by the second communication unit; and a communication processing unit carrying out short-distance communication with the other communication apparatus via the first communication unit when the request is permitted.