Japan's Smartphone Plans Got Cheaper in 2021! A Roundup of 6 Providers

A Wealth of New Plans!

The high cost of Japanese smartphone plans is notorious worldwide. It was becoming more and more difficult to manage household budgets while keeping track of those often outrageous charges. Concerned that providers were overcharging, the Japanese government announced a new policy to get costs back under control.

With the message firmly received, Japan’s telecom companies began racing to release reasonably-priced, budget-friendly plans. With such a sudden barrage of fresh deals, it’s hard to wade through the information to find a service that suits you. To help, we’ve broken down the new plans from six of Japan’s most popular telecoms and carriers.

Number Portability (MNP) is Now Free!

Number portability, or MNP, is a system that allows users to keep their current phone number even when switching to a new provider. If you don’t want a new number when you change provider, make sure to ask about MNP.

This service used to cost 3,000 yen but carriers will now be offering it for free from April 2021!

Contents

• ◆New Plans From Japan’s Biggest Telecoms
• 1.NTT Docomo's ahamo
• 2.au's povo
• 3.Softbank's LINEMO
• 4.Rakuten Mobile's UN-LIMIT VI
• ◆New Plans From Budget Carriers
• 5.UQ Mobile Kurikoshi Plan S/M/L
• 6.Y!mobile Simple S/M/L

New Plans From Japan’s Biggest Telecoms

NTT Docomo, au, Softbank, and Rakuten Mobile, four of Japan’s largest telecom companies, have created brand-new, thrifty plans with an expanded data limit.

Aside from Rakuten Mobile, the others are totally online, eliminating the need to visit a store. Those looking to tighten up their purse strings, read on!

1. NTT Docomo "ahamo"

Service for NTT Docomo’s new "ahamo" plan began on March 26.

NTT Docomo ahamo
Basic Monthly Charge	2,970 yen (after tax)
Data Allowance	20 GB
Speed After Data Limit	Max 1 mbps
Domestic Calls	Free up to 5 minutes, 22 yen per each additional 30 seconds
Application	Online only (from 26 March 2021)
Official Website	https://ahamo.com/index.html/

2. au "povo"

The au "povo" basic plan doesn’t include 5 minutes of free calling, making it a little cheaper.

au povo
Basic Monthly Charge	2,728 yen (after tax)
Data Allowance	20 GB
Speed After Data Limit	Max 1 mbps
Domestic Calls	22 yen/30 seconds + an additional 550 yen per month for free calls within 5 minutes.
Application	Online only (from 23 March 2021)
Official Website	https://povo.au.com/

3. SoftBank "LINEMO"

SoftBank’s newest plan is called LINEMO. Integrated with LINE MOBILE, users will be able to freely engage with the ever-popular LINE communication app. Incidentally, current LINE MOBILE services will be migrating to LINEMO.

SoftBank LINEMO
Basic Monthly Charge	2,728 yen (after tax)
Data Allowance	20 GB
Speed After Data Limit	Max 1 mbps
LINE	Free use of calling and other LINE services
Domestic Calls	22 yen/30 seconds + an additional 550 yen per month for free calls within 5 minutes
Application	Online only
Official Website	https://www.linemo.jp/

4. Rakuten Mobile "UN-LIMIT VI"

Rakuten Mobile’s newest plan is UN-LIMIT VI. Unlike the other three plans, the monthly charge depends upon the amount of data used.

Rakuten Mobile UN-LIMIT VI
Basic Monthly Charge	0 GB〜1 GB：0 yen 1 GB〜3 GB：1,078 yen 3 GB〜20 GB：2,178 yen Over 20 GB：3,278 yen *all after tax
Data Allowance	Within the Rakuten local area network: No Limit Within a Rakuten partner network: 5 GB
Speed After Data Limit	Within the Rakuten local area network: No Limit Within a Rakuten partner network: Max 1 mbps
Domestic Calls	Unlimited through the Rakuten Link app (otherwise 22 yen/30 seconds)
Application	In store and online
Official Website	https://network.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/fee/un-limit/

Even the Budget Carriers Are Getting On Board!

5. UQ Mobile Kurikoshi Plan S/M/L

UQ mobile, under the umbrella of au, have released their new Kurikoshi plan. Similar to Rakuten Mobile, the monthly charge is split into S/M/L tiers corresponding to data usage. Any leftover data transfers to the next month.

UQ Mobile Kurikoshi Plan S/M/L
Basic Monthly Charge	S: 1,628 yen M: 2,728 yen L: 3,828 yen *all after tax
Data Allowance	S: 3 GB M: 15 GB L: 25 GB *Unused data will transfer to the following month
Speed After Data Limit	S: Max 300 kbps M: Max 1 mbps L: Max 1 mbps
Domestic Calls	22 yen/30 seconds + an additional 770 yen per month for free calls less than 10 minutes
Application	In store and online
Official Website	https://www.uqwimax.jp/mobile/plan/kurikoshi/

6. Y!mobile Simple S/M/L

Using Softbank’s service, Y!mobile has also released a new S/M/L split plan.

Y!mobileSimple S/M/L
Basic Monthly Charge	S: 1,980 yen M: 2,980 yen L: 3,780 yen *before tax
Data Allowance	S: 3 GB M: 15 GB L: 25 GB
Data Speed	S: Max 300 kbps M: Max 1 mbps L: Max 1 mbps
Domestic Calls	20 yen/30 seconds + an additional 700 yen per month for free calls less than 10 minutes (all before tax)
Application	In store and online
Official Website	https://www.ymobile.jp/

Find a Plan to Match Your Lifestyle!

Complementing the substantial reductions to monthly bills, the smartphone plan revisions of 2021 have also gifted us with sizable data increases! Best of all, the above providers have plans to offer a 5G service, which will make your smartphone faster than ever before!

Say goodbye to hefty phone bills and take advantage of these new plans today!

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Main image by Pixta