IC cards for JR regions?

Hi i was wondering if like Suica being for JR East, is there a card for JR Kyushu, Shikoku, west, central, and Hokkaido?

Another question is if these cards are for foreigners, is there a card for residents living in japan?

Yes, the regions have their own cards- Icoca, Kitaca etc, but they are interchangeable for JR trains. The Suica is not only for foreigners- perhaps you are thinking of the Suica-NEX package, which can only be purchased by foreign nationals.

so the cards are basically more for the private trains in the regions?

On the contrary, they are usually introduced by the local JR entity in the region in cooperation with local private networks. See this page that lists all the current IC train cards and what networks they are interchangeable on:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

what Sira meant was that although there are cards for each region, Suica cards (issued by JR EAST) are mutually compatible with Icoca (issued by JR WEST), which in turn are mutually compatible with PiTaPa (issued by sposoring private railways and bus companies) (akin to the mutual compatibility of Suica and PASMO in the Kanto area -- PASMO being issued by private railways and bus lines in the Kanto area).

hope this clears up your question.
If not:
tl;dr: * there ARE cards for different regions.
* the cards are variously issued by different parts of JR (EAST, WEST, etc -- broken up like Bell Co. since 1970's) and various private railways
* they are, for the most part, all interchangeable
* they are for domestic use (mostly, in fact)

Ok i understand now. But for my own purpose i was wondering what card is from each JR company ie:
JR west: Icoca
JR central: ???
JR east: Suica
JR hokkaido: Kitaca
JR shikoku: ???
JR kyushu: ???

This is for personal info. Thanks again for clearing it up for me.
PS. I dont know if there are actually several cards per place like suica and pasmo but just list one like the more used or something...kinda like the examples i had.

Be careful if you will be doing extensive travel in more than one region of Japan, as IC cards are generally only compatible on JR trains of a different network.

For example, JR West's ICOCA card is compatible with JR East's SUICA card, but can't be can't be used on Tokyo's subway network. The reverse is true in that SUICA cards don't work on private rail in Kyoto/Osaka. While a SUICA card will work on almost every JR network in Japan, you may still want to get another area's card if you will be extensively using that region's private rail networks.

* they are for domestic use (mostly, in fact)

Aren't they exclusively for domestic use?

BrianK808,
The link given by yllwsmrf lists all the IC cards by JR :)

Here you go:

JR west: Icoca
JR central: Toica
JR east: Suica
JR hokkaido: Kitaca
JR shikoku: NA
JR kyushu: Sugoka

* Aren't they exclusively for domestic use?

Yes, I was referring to

* Another question is if these cards are for foreigners, is there a card for residents living in japan?

meaning that mostly japanese people use these cards

Although, if you wanted to you could use them outside japan. Suica and other FeLiCa based cards are NFC compatible so you could theoretically use them in hongkong or on US paywave/paypass systems if you were so inclined to.
they do in fact work, i just remembered reading someone who has active service on a docom phone using the osaifu-keitai IC feature to pay at a paywave-enabled credit card terminal in pennsylvania.

oh ok sorry about not checking the link earlier. yes so now i understand about it being for domestic uses and stuff. i understand how it works now thank you everyone again.

I see what you mean now, I though you were referring to the cards rather than the users. I though I remembered a news story about how Suica could be used in Korea but I couldn't find any info on that.

Although, if you wanted to you could use them outside japan. Suica and other FeLiCa based cards are NFC compatible so you could theoretically use them in hongkong or on US paywave/paypass systems if you were so inclined to.
they do in fact work, i just remembered reading someone who has active service on a docom phone using the osaifu-keitai IC feature to pay at a paywave-enabled credit card terminal in pennsylvania.

That's really interesting. Are you sure that was mobile suica though, cause it sounds more like other osaifu-ketai programs, for example smartplus or quicpay, which are essentially IC credit cards.

If you get a IC card for a short holiday you will not get a discount on your trips.
However residents of Japans can buy a commuter pass loaded in their smart card or cell phone. The card also has an electronic purse section, separate from the commuter pass. You reload the e-purse as needed and use it to buy newspapers, a coffee or small other stuff.

You can also use it to pay for any trip taken OUTSIDE your commuter route (you will pay less than if paying cash for the extra trip)

These IC cards often have also a credit card component.

Unlike London, Paris etc. (where on buy a weekly/ / yearly transit pass that let you use transit anywhere within one or several zones-- Zone 1 is the centralmost area of London or Paris or ..zone 2 is an irregular doughnut shaped area just outside zone 1 but still part of the older centre of Paris, London etc.--) in Japan one buys a pass (1 month/ 3 months/ 6 months) for the single route between home and work or school (that single route may use several different transit companies).

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

for commuter pass prices check www.hyperdia.com

when you say credit card component dont you mean some credit cards serve as a suica. also wow cell phones can do it too? i aslo saw somewhere that laptops have the pad you scan your car on to refill...why cant they make a universal card hahaha lol.

when you say credit card component dont you mean some credit cards serve as a suica.

Yes. Although which is the main component (suica or credit card) is arguable. Suica is offered as a view credit card for example (or you could say that JR East's view credit card includes suica functionality).

also wow cell phones can do it too?

Yes, they have been able to do this for quite some time now with the downloadable
mobile suica application.

i aslo saw somewhere that laptops have the pad you scan your car on to refill...why cant they make a universal card hahaha lol.

Because every company wants control over their network and to maximize their profits. The various airline mileage programs would be a good comparison.

PiTaPa, the non-JR post-paid card in the Kansai Region, is supposed to become usedbale in Korea, but I am not sure whether the plans have been realized yet.

And I think the ultimate goal is to make Suica (and other cards) valid on all trains in Japan and eventually even in other regions in the world.

so is there other cards other then Suica available on mobile phones? i tried to look for this answer myself but didn't find it.

suica has the highest compatibility with other card networks, so no