What Japanese carriers mean by accepting a residence card, which ones confirm it officially, and what conditions they attach — by carrier.
Limited to carriers whose official site explicitly confirms it accepts foreign residents (see the full ranking for how we draw that line). Exact accepted-document lists are long, carrier-specific, and often only published in Japanese — we link to the source rather than translating them.
| Carrier | Residence card accepted | Min. remaining validity | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daredemo Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| Daredemo Sumaho | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| Sunsyscon | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| TONE Mobile | Yes | 24 months | Official |
| IIJmio | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| mineo | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| AEON Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| HIS Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| NURO Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| BIGLOBE Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| y.u mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| LIBMO | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| QT Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| J:COM Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| LinksMate | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| DTI SIM | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| ahamo | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| povo2.0 | Yes | 3 months | Official |
| LINEMO | Yes | Not specified | Official |
| Y!mobile | Yes | 3 months | Official |
| Rakuten Mobile | Yes | Not specified | Official |
It's the official ID card issued by Japanese immigration to foreign nationals staying in Japan for an extended period (generally over 90 days), showing your status of residence, period of stay, and a photo. Most Japanese carriers list it as an acceptable form of ID for signing a SIM contract, alongside a Japanese driver's license or My Number card.
Among the carriers we checked, TONE Mobile, povo2.0, Y!mobile state a specific minimum (see the table above). Every other carrier we checked does not specify a minimum either way — that's not the same as "no minimum," just that we couldn't find one stated.
Not automatically — they're different questions. A carrier can accept a residence card as identity proof while still requiring a credit card (which itself may need Japanese credit history to obtain) or running its own screening. See our guide to paying without a credit card for that separate question.