Internet access in Japan : Mobile Network
We now don't have to much care about the contract period "Shibari".
The Telecommunications Business Law revised in Oct 2019 allows the condition on "Shibari" to be relaxed.
In Japan, there are three major mobile network operators, NTT docomo, KDDI au, SoftBank, and Yahoo mobile. They usually offer discounts if you agree to use their service for a certain period, for example, 2 years for the initial contract period, etc. This offer is a good deal, of course, but it requires a condition that they will charge you a penalty fee if you cancel the contract before the end of the contract period.
The contract is automatically renewed and extended for another period unless you cancel within the month when the contract expires.
The automatic renewal is usually done without prior notice, and the contractor tends to miss the timing to cancel without having to pay a penalty fee. This contract style may be the same as it in other countries.
What's Shibari?
Shibari means the state of being controlled by regulations, terms, and conditions. Major telecommunication operators set a 2-year contract period to provide special offers, which is called 2-year Shibari (Ninen-Shibari) by users who are unhappy about the condition.
For example, if you have a 2-year contract starting in August, the contract ends on August 2 years later. If you don't want to renew the contract, you need to go through a cancellation procedure within August. Otherwise, the contract period is automatically extended for another 2 years. If you miss the timing and request the cancelation in September or later, you are considered to break the contract and will be charged a penalty fee. If you want to cancel without paying the annoying fee, you will have to wait for August after the next year. We call this term commitment Shibari.
Good news: The penalty fee has been lower.
Although the penalty fee is still required for cancelation during the contracted period, the rate has been much lower since the revision of the Telecommunications Business Law revised in Oct 2019. The penalty fee used to be 9500 JP Yen, but now the rate is up to 1000 JP Yen, allowing users to select a suitable service and change the operator with less hesitation.
Mobile network operators
NTT Docomo
KDDI au
SoftBank
SoftBank
https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/
Yahoo Mobile (Ymobile)
UQ Mobile
Ads
Mobile/Wireless Network Carriers in Japan
NTT Docomo
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
KDDI au
https://www.au.kddi.com/english/
SoftBank Mobile
https://www.softbank.jp/en/mobile/
UQ WiMax
Ymobile
DMMmobile
Related Info : Paid Wi-Fi Services
These services are usually provided without minimum contract period. The fee is paid on a monthly basis by credit card.
Yahoo BB Wireless LAN Spot Services
https://wireless.yahoo.co.jp/ (Japanese Website)
This service allows users to have Internet access at hot spots, including Japan MacDonald.
