Reference · updated as providers change
Which sign-ups accept a second-generation residence card
If your card was issued on or after 14 June 2026, some online sign-ups will refuse it, and each company decides separately. This tracks who accepts it, who does not, and what to do instead. Every entry links the provider's own notice.
Tracker
Online verification, service by service
Each row is read from the provider's own Japanese notice, linked with the date we read it.
- 1accepts it online
- 5accept it by some routes, not others
- 5do not accept it online
- 3still checking
| Service | Online verification | If it refuses | Detail and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rakuten Mobile Mobile carrier | Yes | Also accepted in Rakuten Mobile shops since 14 June 2026 | Added to online verification on 1 September 2026. The only provider here that has finished the work. Applies to: Mobile contract, online identity check (スマホでかんたん本人確認). All new card types. Rakuten Mobile's own notice · read 2026-09-16 「スマホでかんたん本人確認」（オンラインでのご本人確認）でも以下の特定在留カード、第二世代在留カード等をご利用いただけるようになりました。 |
| ahamo Mobile carrier (docomo) | No | Apply in person at a retailer running an ahamo sign-up fair | Covers both the second-generation card and the My Number-integrated specified card. Applies to: Online application identity check. Second-generation card and the specified card. ahamo's own notice · read 2026-09-16 2026年6月14日以降に交付された第二世代在留カード/第二世代特別永住者証明書、マイナンバーカードとしての機能が付加された特定在留カード/特定特別永住者証明書は利用できません。 |
| LINEMO Mobile carrier (SoftBank) | Partly | Choose 配達時に本人確認: the courier checks the card at your door | The in-app scan will not take a new-format card; LINEMO says app support is planned but gives no date. Applies to: Mobile contract, identity check inside the app. New-format cards. LINEMO's own notice · read 2026-09-16 新様式の在留カード・特別永住者証明書は、今後アプリでの本人確認に対応予定です。 |
| IIJmio Mobile carrier | Partly | Upload card images at a counter, in person | The specified residence card works online through JPKI. The second-generation card does not; IIJmio says support is due 今冬 (this winter). Applies to: Online application. The specified card works through JPKI; the second-generation card fails the chip reading plus face photo method. IIJmio's own notice · read 2026-09-17 6月14日以降発行分の第二世代カードはICチップ読み取り＋容貌方式をご利用いただけません。今冬対応予定です。 |
| Aeon Mobile Mobile carrier | Partly | Specified card: choose My Number Card as the document online. Second-generation card: any Aeon Mobile shop, or a My Number Card or driver's license online | The second-generation card cannot be used online and Aeon gives no completion date. The specified card, which carries My Number Card functions, works online if you select My Number Card instead of residence card. Applies to: Online mobile contract. The second-generation card fails; the specified card works if you choose My Number Card as the document. Aeon Mobile's own notice · read 2026-09-17 現時点で改修が完了する時期は未定です |
| LP Mobile Mobile carrier | No | None stated in the notice | The notice expects the fix around August to September 2026 and says LP Mobile will announce when you can apply. As of 17 September 2026 no such announcement is on the notice. Applies to: Online mobile contract, IC chip reading. All four new card types. LP Mobile's own notice · read 2026-09-17 システムの改修につきましては、2026年8月～9月ごろに改修が完了する見込みです。 |
| Docomo SMTB Net Bank Bank (formerly SBI Sumishin Net Bank) | No | Open the account by post, sending a copy of your 住民票 | Blocks both the smartphone check and IC chip reading. No fix date given. Applies to: Account opening by smartphone identity check or IC chip reading. All four new card types. Docomo SMTB Net Bank's own notice · read 2026-09-16 スマホで本人確認やICチップ読取にて「第二世代在留カード」「第二世代特別永住者証明書」「特定在留カード」「特定特別永住者証明書」は受付できません。 |
| Japan Post Bank Bank | No | Use a My Number Card or a driver's licence for the eKYC instead | Covers identity checks inside two Japan Post Bank apps. While this lasts you also cannot register for Japan Post Bank's international remittance service. Applies to: Document eKYC in the ゆうちょ通帳アプリ and ゆうちょ認証アプリ, and so registration for ゆうちょの国際送金. Cards issued from 14 June 2026, including the specified card. Not a notice about counter services. Japan Post Bank's own notice · read 2026-09-17 2026年6月14日以降に発行される在留カード（特定在留カードを含む）は、ゆうちょ通帳アプリおよびゆうちょ認証アプリでの書類による本人確認（eKYC）で当面の間ご利用いただけません。 |
| povo Mobile carrier (au) | Partly | Specified card: choose My Number Card as the ID method and scan the specified card. Second-generation card: none stated | povo cannot read the second-generation residence card yet and gives no date. The specified residence card, which carries My Number Card functions, works if you choose My Number Card in the app. Applies to: New povo2.0 contract online, ID check by reading the card chip in the app. povo's own notice · read 2026-09-17 第二世代在留カードは現在ご利用いただけません。特定在留カードをご利用の場合は、本人確認方法で「マイナンバーカード」を選択し、特定在留カードで読み取りをしてください。 |
| mineo Mobile carrier | Checking | Checking | |
| SoftBank Mobile carrier | Partly | Choose ID check by the delivery driver, which accepts both new card types. A ¥550 fee applies on some products from 1 June 2026 | The SoftBank app cannot read the second-generation card yet; SoftBank says support is planned but gives no date. The specified card works in the app only when you pay in full, choosing My Number. Checking your card at delivery works for both new cards and either payment type. Applies to: SoftBank online shop only, by payment type (full or installments) and method (app or delivery driver). Y!mobile and LINEMO are not covered by this notice. SoftBank's own notice · read 2026-09-17 新様式の在留カード・特別永住者証明書は、今後アプリでの本人確認に対応予定です |
| PayPay Bank Bank | Checking | Checking | |
| Sony Bank Bank | No | Apply by mail with a copy of your residence card and a residence record (住民票) | Sony Bank does not let any non-Japanese national open an account through its app or smartphone sign-up, whichever card you hold. This is a rule about nationality, not about the new cards. Applies to: Personal account opening by any non-Japanese national, every card type. Not specific to the new cards. Sony Bank's own notice · read 2026-09-17 日本国籍をお持ちでないかたは、「郵送での口座開設」にてお申込みください。「アプリ口座開設」と「スマホ口座開設」は利用できません。 |
| Wise Money transfer | Checking | Checking |
Checking means we have not found a statement from that company yet: mineo, PayPay Bank, Wise. If one of them refused your card, tell us what happened and we will look for the notice.
On this page
Why this is happening
Two changes two months apart caused this.
- Apr
April 2026: IC chip reading becomes mandatory
A ministerial ordinance made IC chip reading mandatory for identity verification on online mobile contracts. Photographing the card is no longer enough on its own.
- Jun
14 June 2026: the new cards arrive
Japan began issuing second-generation residence cards, and specified residence cards carrying My Number Card functionality. Three card formats now circulate at once, and the new chips are laid out differently from the old one.
The second-generation card no longer prints 在留期間 (period of stay), 許可の種類 (permission type), 許可年月日 or 交付年月日 on its face. A system that reads those fields from a photo of the card cannot get them, so it has to read the chip, and the chip layout is what changed. Source: the Immigration Services Agency's residence card page (read 17 September 2026).
Each provider is rebuilding its own verification system, so the answer depends on the company. Rakuten Mobile has finished.
April 2027: moving house can fail an online check
A further revision to Japan's anti-money-laundering law (犯罪収益移転防止法) is due in April 2027. After it, an online-only identity check by chip reading has to confirm your current address from the chip itself.
When you move, the city office writes your new address on the back of the card, but the chip is not always updated. A photo of the back is not chip data, so your card can fail an online check after a move. If you are about to move and need to sign up for something online, do the sign-up first.
Source: the National Police Agency's Q&A on the rule change, question 9: a photo of the back of the card is not chip data, so the current address has to be confirmed another way. The Financial Services Agency lists that Q&A as applying from 1 April 2027 (read 17 September 2026).
What to do when a sign-up refuses your card
- Choose verification on deliveryLINEMO offers this: the courier checks the card at your door. You have to be home.
- Apply in a shopCounter staff read the physical card. Aeon Mobile, IIJmio, Rakuten Mobile and ahamo's retail partners all accept the new card in person.
- Use a different documentJapan Post Bank's apps and Aeon Mobile accept a My Number Card or a driver's license online where they refuse the new residence card. At Aeon Mobile, a specified residence card works online if you choose My Number Card as the document.
- Use a data-only eSIM for nowA travel eSIM asks for no ID, but gives you no Japanese phone number. Plans with a number, prepaid ones included, still check ID. Lyprimo told us by email that its online check accepts the new card; it has no public notice saying so, so it is not in the table.
- Post the documentsDocomo SMTB Net Bank lets you open an account by post with a copy of your 住民票. It is slower.
Residence card verification FAQ
Can I use a second-generation residence card for online sign-ups in Japan?
Sometimes. Rakuten Mobile accepts it online as of 1 September 2026. ahamo, LP Mobile and Docomo SMTB Net Bank do not, and Japan Post Bank’s apps do not. LINEMO, IIJmio and Aeon Mobile accept it by some routes or for some card types and not others.
Why can some services not read the new residence card?
From April 2026 online mobile contracts must verify identity by reading the card’s IC chip. The second-generation card changed the chip and removed four fields from the printed face, so a system built for the old card has nothing to fall back on until it is rebuilt.
What can I do if a sign-up refuses my new residence card?
Four routes usually work: choose verification when the courier delivers, apply in a shop in person, use a My Number Card or driver’s licence instead where the service accepts one, or use a prepaid service that does no online identity check at all.
Which residence cards are affected?
Cards issued on or after 14 June 2026: both the second-generation residence card and the specified residence card that carries My Number Card functionality, plus the equivalent special permanent resident certificates. A card issued before that date is unaffected.
How this page is maintained
Read from each provider's own notice.
Each row is read from the provider's own Japanese notice, linked above with the date we read it. We infer nothing from a company's silence: without a notice, a company shows as checking.
Providers change their answer. Rakuten Mobile started accepting the card online on 1 September 2026, and IIJmio says it will this winter. If you find a notice we have missed or a row that is out of date, send it to us.
No advertising links appear on this page and it earns nothing. Some other pages on this site carry advertiser links and are labeled as such; how that works. Last reviewed 2026-09-17.