{"id":167,"date":"2026-05-27T20:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/guide-2\/sim\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T21:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:03:49","slug":"sim","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/en\/guide\/sim\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose a SIM card in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A phone number and mobile internet are often needed soon after arriving in Japan. You may be asked for a phone number for city office procedures, banking, work, school, housing, and delivery. This guide explains what foreign residents should check before choosing a SIM card.<\/p>\n<h2>Who this page is for<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>People preparing to come to Japan<\/li>\n<li>People who have just arrived and need a phone number<\/li>\n<li>People starting life in company housing, school housing, or a dormitory<\/li>\n<li>People worried about contracts in Japanese<\/li>\n<li>People who do not yet have a Japanese bank account or registered address<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Decide this first<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Voice SIM<\/strong>: Useful if you need a Japanese phone number, calls, and SMS verification.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Data SIM<\/strong>: Good if you only need internet. It may not work for procedures that require phone calls or SMS.<\/li>\n<li><strong>eSIM<\/strong>: Can be set up without receiving a physical card, but your phone must support eSIM.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Physical SIM<\/strong>: A card is delivered or handed to you. Check the receiving address and delivery date.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Check before applying<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Whether your current phone can be used on Japanese networks<\/li>\n<li>Whether the SIM lock is removed<\/li>\n<li>Whether you need calls, SMS, or data only<\/li>\n<li>What identity documents are required<\/li>\n<li>Whether the address on your residence card matches your current address<\/li>\n<li>Which payment methods are accepted<\/li>\n<li>Whether you can receive the SIM card at your address<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Common problems for foreign residents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No fixed address yet<\/strong>: You may not be able to receive a physical SIM card.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Address not written on the residence card<\/strong>: Some applications may stop until address registration is complete.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Payment method mismatch<\/strong>: Credit cards, debit cards, Japanese bank accounts, and direct debit rules differ by provider.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Name mismatch<\/strong>: Differences between your residence card, passport, card name, and bank account name can cause identity verification problems.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Short stay and long-term residence are different<\/strong>: Tourist SIMs and monthly resident SIMs have different conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Costs to check<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Monthly fee<\/li>\n<li>Initial fee, contract fee, and SIM issue fee<\/li>\n<li>Call and SMS charges<\/li>\n<li>Speed or extra charges after using your data allowance<\/li>\n<li>Remaining device installment payments<\/li>\n<li>Cancellation, MNP, and plan change costs<\/li>\n<li>Normal price after a campaign ends<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to choose by situation<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>You do not have a Japanese bank account yet<\/strong>: Check whether card payment is accepted and whether payment method can be changed later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You need to proceed with city office or bank procedures<\/strong>: Consider a voice SIM because calls or SMS verification may be needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your dormitory or company housing has Wi-Fi<\/strong>: A smaller data plan may be enough.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You often use maps, translation, and messaging outside<\/strong>: Prioritize data allowance and coverage area.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You want to keep your current phone number<\/strong>: Check MNP support, reservation number rules, or MNP one-stop availability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Official information to check<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.soumu.go.jp\/menu_seisaku\/ictseisaku\/keitai_portal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MIC Mobile Phone Portal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov-online.go.jp\/article\/202107\/entry-10146.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Government Public Relations Online: MNP procedures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.faq.kokusen.go.jp\/faq\/show\/1251?site_domain=default\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Consumer Affairs Center: mobile phone contract confirmation measures<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Next actions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/check\/life-start\/\">Check your preparation with the Life in Japan Start Diagnosis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/checklist\/pre_arrival_life\/\">Use the pre-arrival checklist<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/guide\/wifi\/\">Check how to choose Wi-Fi<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/contact\/\">Ask about mobile preparation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A phone number and mobile internet are often needed soon after arriving in Japan. You may be asked for a phone number for city office procedures, banking, work, school, housing, and delivery. This guide explains what foreign residents should check before choosing a SIM card. Who this page is for People preparing to come to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":166,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"162","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-167","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","en-US"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":195,"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/167\/revisions\/195"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/japanreadycheck.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}