Debt in Japan how to check for it?

Hello all,

I have lived in Japan from 2014 to 2015 with a student visa. Back then I think I was a victim of a scam, a Chinese guy approached a lot of people in my university offering to give us money for us to get mobile carriers contracts and they would pay for it and cancel in 6 months. Me and my friends did it and we got 5 man at the time. Before I leave japan in 2015 I thought that he cancelled every contract.

This year I came back to Japan for working as an engineer with a 3 year visa. Then, yesterday I tried to make contract with Y! mobile (softbank), the guy there told me that I had some debt in softbank and I could not make the contract. So I went to softbank and payed 3 man in debt. I went to docomo also and payed 2.8 man in debts. Today I am going to Au prepared to pay almost the same amount of money.

First I want to know if I am blacklisted (or how to get such information). I want to get a credit card for online purchases (I know that I can live very well without a credit card, but I believe that it is necessary in some cases). Second I want to know if there is a system in which I can check if there is any debt in my name.

My Japanese is not bad, but I am not comfortable in handling this type of situation nor I know the vocabulary to do so. I classify my Japanese as good for day-to day conversations.

Thanks in advance.

First I want to know if I am blacklisted

You are definitely blacklisted because phone companies share the information and if something went wrong with one cell phone carrier, others will know. Do banks also have access to that database, not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Yeah, I think so. This was a debt that I had no Idea I had. If I pay everything how long does it take for may name to get clean?

Last time I was in Japan, the only things I payed were electric and water bills, rent, furniture rent which were al handled by the university, so I am sure that these are closed and I do not have any debt in these companies. Other than that I payed for a gym subscription (which I cancelled with the university help) and cellphone (which university helped me to cancel also). Other than that I believe that I may have contracts in Docomo, softbank and Au (because of the scam). I am willing to pay everything because I want to start a life in Japan. I never had these types of problems in my country... I feel ashamed in some way...

I believe Credit Information Center (CIC) and Japan Credit Information Reference Center Corp. (JICC) are the credit bureaus in Japan with whom you can check your credit information, but I am not sure if all the mobile carrier companies are registered with them. Credit card companies (in Japan they have traditionally been separate from banks) are the main ones registered with them.

Thanks AK,

I was looking into this, but all the forms are in Japanese, so I will try to translate them in the computer.

Since I already payed my debts in SOFTBANK and DOCOMO, I will try pay any debt I may have in AU and try to make a credit card. See what they say...

Thanks for all the advice!

I was checking the CIC site – their English site is not really useful for those who wish to review their credit info.
The funny thing is that they ask for payment of 1,000 yen as the fee, and they want you to pay via credit card. (I am checking the page for applying to see your credit info via PC/smartphone.) And their in-person counter is closed till the end of March due to the new coronavirus scare, so you can apply to review your info only via post or via internet currently.

Maybe the first thing you might want to check is if they provide credit information related to all three mobile carrier companies and utilities companies. If all the information they have relate to Japanese credit card issuers, that might not be too useful. Best wishes.

I was reading the CIC FAQ, they do not provide credit reports in english. Therefore, for me the information would be useless without someone to trasnlate it for me. I do not want to involve my current company, because I am afraid they see me as a untrustworthy person.

I will search for debts in the carrier companies and try to ask for the help of a Japanese friend.

when you get a phone with 2 years contract plus special discount, you make two contracts. one is "using phone line". another is "buying of cell phone by credit".
according to some websites, "using phone" will be recovered after you pay the residual amount. but, "buying of cell phone by credit" will not be recovered so easily. your bad credit history may be cleared after 5 years (probably, 5 years after you have paid all).

you say you are a victim. but, from the standing points of phone companies, you are a thief. even when you are not punished criminally, they have rights to refuse you to make contracts all the time. in Japan, there are a lot of unwritten and unopened-to-public "punishment" for persons who don't follow the rules. it is not restricted to foreigners. many stupid young Japanese did in similar way, and get troubles in their futures.

Indeed, I am not playing the victim here. I know that I have a debt and I am willing to pay it. And I agree with you, the carrier companies have all the right to deny contracts.

When I payed SOFTBANK debt yesterday I could make a new contract with y!mobile in the same day. None of the contracts I made in that time included a smartphone, they were just lines and one of the cheapest ones (was around 2000 yen).

I was naive to trust the guy in his scam. However, it was my fault indeed and I am trying to fix this mistake. I already contacted SOFTBANK and DOCOMO and payed the debts in both companies. I will go to an AU shop today and try to close any open debts in my name there.

The thing is, I want to be completely sure if there is not any more debt in my name. If there is any, I would pay them promptly. I have some money I brought for possible expenses in beginning to live in japan.

any update on your case? Happened to my wife, but due to identity theft. I'm worried that even after paying the full amount, we will still not be eligible for any type of loan. (phone, car, home).

Hello Jyu,

I will give you a summary of my efforts so far. I went to SOFTBANK and payed the debt there, a couple of hours later I could make a new contract in Y! mobile, but used an international credit card that I own. According to the SOFTBANK staff they said that everything is OK after I payed my debt.

In the same day at night (sunday 03/08/2020), I went to DOCOMO and did the same thing. I payed the debt there. Both places gave me a receipt of payed debt, so I think It is OK for now. However, as said before, the companies are in their right to refuse service for me (which I also do not intend to use, since I already have a phone number with Y! mobile).

Today I went to Au, and the staff could not find anything in my name, but they said that the finance office was closed, so I should make a call earlier in the next day. After calling to Au and verifying If I have debt or not I will try to make a credit card at my bank (Yuuchou). If it gets accepted, means that I am not blacklisted.

Anyway, I will ask help from a Japanese friend to get my credit report soon, so I will understand my situation. I intend to keep you updated on this situation. I want to help anyone in the same situation. :)

Hello all,

I got updates, I called Au shop and with the following information they could find the debt in my name:

Name (Katakana), date of birth and address (The one used to create the account).

They insisted that if I did not have the telephone number they could not verify it, but when I said that I went to docomo and could make the same check with this information, they tried and gave me the Kanyusha code and the banking information of KDDI Au.

I did the transfer yesterday and inserted the code before my name. Today I called again to check for my name and it was much easier since I had the kanyusha code.

I am sure that I do not have any debt with any carrier company now in Japan. Probably my credit is not good, but I will try to pay everything right and recover it. I will also try to get the credit report and credit card. I will update here.