Docomo to offer foreigners visiting Japan free access to mobile phone network via prepaid SIM

Dec 26, 2017 | News On Japan

Dec 26, 2017 (Japan Today) - NTT Docomo on Monday announced its Japan Welcome SIM TM series will introduce Plan 0 to allow overseas visitors in Japan to access the Internet for free via the Docomo mobile network, from Tuesday. The free service will initially be available in Hokkaido and Niigata prefectures, after which other areas will be added sequentially.

Along with the addition of Plan 0, Japan Welcome SIM's Plan 1000 and Plan 1700 will be renamed as Plan S and Plan M respectively, and a Plan L will be newly added for large-volume users of high-speed data communications. These changes will also apply from Tuesday.

Docomo has launched various fee-based plans for Japan Welcome SIM since July, but Plan 0 is the first free plan in the series. Customers can qualify for the free service by viewing designated advertisements in their home countries before visiting Japan. Plan 0 is being offered in collaboration with local governments and business partners that are interested in targeting specific foreign visitors through advertisements and by setting various conditions for service usage, such as application periods, SIM pick-up periods, SIM handover locations, total SIMs to be offered, and more.

Japan Welcome SIM is provided as a 3-in-1 SIM card compatible with regular, micro and nano formats. Access to the Docomo network is provided for 15 days under various plans - Plan 0, Plan S, Plan M and Plan L. Plan 0 offers free Internet in exchange for viewing a certain number of video ads and completing a survey prior to arriving in Japan. Ad-free access at 128 Kbps is available for Â¥1,080 (Plan S), or high-speed (max. 788 Mbps ) 4G access is available with Plan M (Â¥1,836 for 600 MB) and Plan L (Â¥2,376 for 1.2 GB).

Users can continue to enjoy the high-speed service by topping up their SIMs for Â¥216 (100 MB), Â¥756 (500 MB) or Â¥1,296 (1 GB). Alternatively, the SIMs can be topped up with free high-speed data through methods such as watching video ads or completing surveys. Even after purchased high-speed data amounts have been used up, access to the network is still available at 128 Kbps for the remainder of the 15-day period.

Japan Welcome SIM applications are accepted in English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Thai at https://docomo.prepaid-sim.jp/lp.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.