SoftBank Hikari for foreign residents: documents, language support and costs when you leave

Which languages you can use

SoftBank's English site shows the SoftBank Hikari monthly prices and says they go up by ¥330 a month from 1 December 2026. The detailed price pages, campaigns, moving procedures and support pages are marked "in Japanese only".^[1][2]

On SoftBank's English support page, fibre ("Optic Fiber") support is listed as Japanese only.^[3]

There is English phone support: from a SoftBank mobile, call 157 and press "8"; from other phones, call 0800-919-0157 (10:00 to 19:00). But it is listed under mobile phone support, and nothing says it can help with SoftBank Hikari applications or cancellations. For internet service, SoftBank has a digital catalogue in English.^[1][4]

On the Japanese-language version of this site, the application button for SoftBank Hikari goes to a reseller, N's Company (エヌズカンパニー), rather than to SoftBank directly.^[11]

What you need to apply

For ID, foreign nationals need a residence card (在留カード, zairyū card) together with their passport, or a special permanent resident certificate (特別永住者証明書, tokubetsu eijūsha shōmeisho). This is from SoftBank's checklist for applying in a shop.^[5]

If you apply online or by phone, you upload your ID through a link sent by SMS, or send copies back with a form that comes by post. You pay by credit card or by direct debit from a bank account (口座振替, kōza furikae), and you register this the same way. If you apply in a shop, bring a credit card or a bank cash card.^[5][6]

If you apply online or by phone and your ID check is already complete, you can choose an installation date from about six days after applying. If the check is not complete, the earliest is about two weeks. If you apply in a shop, it is about ten days. The sooner you send your documents, the sooner you can be connected.^[6]

Before you apply: residence card address, payment methods and the confirmation call →

Installation and how long it takes

If conditions allow, the installation date is fixed while you apply, but some installations take more than a month. A notice with your ID and login details arrives by SMS or post, about a week later at the earliest.^[6]

On installation day, someone who can decide where the equipment goes must be home. In some buildings there is no visit at all, and you just connect the equipment they send you.^[6]

Installation costs ¥47,520 with a technician visit or ¥5,280 without. For new customers who need a technician visit, SoftBank's own campaign takes ¥1,980 a month off the bill for 24 months, starting in the seventh month of billing. Plans that do not renew automatically are not included. The button on this page goes to SoftBank's own site. Resellers (販売代理店, hanbai dairiten) run their own offers, and their conditions can be different.^[7]

Moving or leaving Japan: what it costs and what to do

On the two-year plan that renews automatically, you can cancel free of charge in the month your term ends and in the two months after it. At any other time, cancelling costs one month of the basic fee before discounts: ¥5,720 for a house (ファミリー, famirī) or ¥4,180 for an apartment (マンション, manshon). If your term ends on or after 1 December 2026, the fee becomes ¥6,050 and ¥4,510 from the month after it ends.^[2][8]

If you are still paying the installation fee in instalments, the rest is due all at once when you cancel. The law sets an upper limit on this amount. In SoftBank's own example, cancelling a two-year plan after 15 months gives ¥47,520 × (24 − 15) ÷ 24 = ¥17,820.^[8][9]

You can only cancel by phone. You choose a cancellation date between six business days and 90 days after your call. If you call just before your flight, it may be too late for the date you want.^[9]

A technician visits to remove the line, and someone must be there. On the call, you are asked for three dates when you can be home. If the house is rented and you have already moved out, give them the name of the management company (管理会社, kanri-gaisha), its phone number and the name of the person in charge.^[9]

Rented equipment must be returned by the 20th of the month after service stops. Returning it does not cancel your contract. If it arrives late, you are charged a fee, for example ¥12,000 for the Hikari BB Unit (E-WMTA2.4) and ¥5,000 for a 2G-ONU (for contracts made from 1 July 2022, among other cases).^[10]

Leaving Japan: when to cancel and how to deal with the final bill →