You renewed your residence card, and the new one looks different. Now you want to sign up for Rakuten Mobile and wonder if the card will pass the ID check.
Yes. Rakuten Mobile accepts the new types of cards as ID. Shops accept them from June 14, 2026. The online ID check on your phone accepts them from September 1, 2026.
Rakuten Mobile posted this in its official notice for foreign customers (published June 12, updated September 1, 2026).
Which new cards are accepted
There are two groups.
- A card combined with the My Number card. The notice calls them the “Specified Residence Card” and the “Specified Special Permanent Resident Certificate”. Both are new from June 14, 2026.
- A second-generation card issued on or after June 14, 2026. These are the “Second-generation Residence Card” and the “Second-generation Special Permanent Resident Certificate”.
The notice sends you to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan for what each card looks like. If you are not sure which type you have, check there first.
Where you can use them
- At a Rakuten Mobile shop: bring the new card. Accepted from June 14, 2026.
- Online: the “smartphone easy ID check” (スマホでかんたん本人確認) in the sign-up flow now accepts them. Accepted from September 1, 2026.
You do not need to visit a shop only because your card is new. If you prefer to sign up on your phone, you can.
If your card is the older type
The notice talks only about cards that were added. It does not say the older card stops working. It also says nothing about how it treats a card that is expired, or a card whose renewal is still in progress. If your case is one of these, ask Rakuten Mobile or the Immigration Services Agency before you go to the shop, so you do not make the trip for nothing.
Check before you apply
- Your card is a second-generation card issued on or after June 14, 2026, or a card combined with the My Number card
- You apply at a Rakuten Mobile shop, or on your phone with the online ID check
- The name and address on the card match what you enter in the application
- Your card is not expired and you are not waiting for a renewal
The last two are my own general advice, not from the notice.
One last thing
A new card does not mean a new problem. If you hold a second-generation card or a card combined with the My Number card, you can sign up for Rakuten Mobile at a shop or on your phone. If your card is the older type, or in the middle of renewal, ask first.
I work for Rakuten Group, and I use a referral link on this site. This article is based only on the public official notice, as checked on October 21, 2026. The rules can change, so please confirm on the official page before you apply.
Source: Rakuten Mobile, “Notice for customers with foreign nationality: residence cards and Special Permanent Resident Certificates” (updated September 1, 2026) https://network.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/information/news/service/3739/
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This article contains machine translation. For official terms, please refer to the multilingual pages on the official Rakuten Mobile website.
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