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From: Aly Rustom
Date: July 11, 2026
On July 5, 2026 my wife, and I went to change my carrier to Rakuten mobile. A week earlier in my wife had already changed to RM and the process was taking too long so I couldn’t get my carrier changed on the same day as well. Therefore, we elected to go on the 5 of July.
All went well and smooth until the staff member directly asked me for my Zairyu card. I remembered last week that he only asked my wife for ID and she produced her drivers license which he accepted without any issues. However, when I said that I would also be presenting my drivers license as that is what I always do when I am asked for my residence card. I noticed that he was a bit uncomfortable, but said OK.
After the paperwork was pretty much finalized, he said I’m sorry, but it’s Rakuten’s policy that we need to see your Zairyu card. I responded with that is illegal to request that. My driver’s license is a Japanese drivers license that is valid. I pay the same taxes as any Japanese so I should be treated the same. He wouldn’t relent so we canceled the contract and got up and left.
I wonder if any other people have had the exact same experiences I have. Has anyone else gone to Rakuten and been specifically asked to show their card when they have a drivers license? Because that is exactly what happened to me.
Sincerely, Aly Rustom
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— Hi Blog. Debito here. Anyone else finding that for trying to get service from a private-sector business, ID that would suffice for a Japanese, e.g., their driver license, has not sufficed, and they have unlawfully required you produce your Zairyuu Card?
There were a couple of situations I encountered on my trips to Japan like this — not for contracts, but for government agencies. I just said I was a citizen, produced my Japanese driver license, and that sufficed. But that’s not a panacea for everyone.
More on this issue of producing Gaijin Cards here (ancient page, but still valid). Debito Arudou, Ph.D.
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1 comment on “Aly Rustom on the unequal treatment of being Gaijin Carded for phone service at Rakuten Mobile. Anyone else?”
I’m not sure it is helpful to claim that a company asking for your zairyu card is ‘illegal’. It is not illegal for them to ask. You are not required to provide it, and they are then free not to give you service.
I successfully pushed back on this with Anytime Fitness a few years ago (did a guest post on Debito about it) and it was one of the many reasons I was very happy to see the back of Softbank.
My approach would be not to argue with the salesperson (who is only doing as they were told/trained) but maybe talking to the manager or head office. I get the feeling Rakuten Mobile is not particularly going to care though. I’ve been very happy with Aeon Mobile so far. They let me use my alias and never mentioned zairyu cards.