Japan data

[DRNewcomb]

There seems to be some good news. I was looking on the Softbank website and they now offer a prepaid SIM for "Short Term Residents". The necessary documentation seems to include a foreign passport with an immigration/entry card and at least 90 days remaining on your stay. Now, the catch with this seems to be that most of the time, when I entered Japan, I got a 90-day stamp. This would mean that you would have to obtain your SIM the very day you arrive in Japan. The Japanese tend to be pretty pedantic when it comes to paperwork and I'd be willing to bet that 89 days is not viewed as being the same as 90 days.

The rates appear high and their data rate is crazy ¥16/6 sec (¥160 per minute). Makes one wonder if someone's on drugs or something.

[reeder]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

There seems to be some good news. I was looking on the Softbank website and they now offer a prepaid SIM for "Short Term Residents". The necessary documentation seems to include a foreign passport with an immigration/entry card and at least 90 days remaining on your stay.

Are you referring to the clause Purchasing Procedures | SoftBank

3. Certificate of alien registration + Passport
The applicant must be eligible to stay in Japan for 90 days or more after the service application has been accepted.
The certificate and the passport must be valid at the time of application.
The certificate and the passport must include a photograph of the applicant's face, name, birth date and address, all of which must be identical to those written on the application form.
If the address on the certificate or/and the passport is different from the current address specified on the application form, you must submit separate proof of your current address.

Alien Registration wasn't the same as a 90 day tourist visa. I think it has been replaced by a foreign national resident registration system which excludes
(1) Persons granted permission to stay for 3 months or less
(2) Persons granted "Temporary Visitor" status
I'd need to check my passport stamps, but I think a US passport holder arriving for tourism would be granted a Temporary Visitor visa thus ineligible according to the rules.

Alien registration in Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To all foreign nationals residing in Japan?Beginning on Monday, July 9, 2012,?Start of a new residency management system!
Consulate-General of Japan in New York

I've actually seen a few China Unicom sims for use in Japan on eBay. They roam on Softbank and use an apn in China. The apn in China and price discourage me from trying it, even though the 15GB/7 days data cap is plenty sufficient.