A list of major carriers providing mobile phone services in Japan.
Overview
Japanese Mobile Carriers
Japanese mobile carriers consist of three major carriers (NTT DOCOMO, KDDI (au), and SoftBank) and Rakuten Mobile as the fourth carrier that entered the market in 2020. These operators provide mobile phone lines and smartphone services, supporting Japan's communication infrastructure. Each carrier maintains its own communication network, offering 5G services and various sub-brands, with intense competition continuing in the market.
mobile phone
mobile carrier
telecommunications
DOCOMO
au
SoftBank
Rakuten Mobile
5G
MNO
| code | slug | name | description | established | marketPosition | parentCompany | serviceStart | subBrand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | ntt-docomo | NTT DOCOMO | Japan's largest mobile carrier. Established in 1991, leading the market with innovative services like i-mode and FOMA. | 1991-08-14 | Market Leader | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) | 1992-07-01 | ahamo |
| 02 | kddi-au | KDDI (au) | Japan's second-largest mobile carrier. Born from the merger of DDI, KDD, and IDO in 2000. Known for well-balanced services. | 2000-10-01 | Second Place | KDDI CORPORATION (Holding Company) | 2001-07-01 | UQ mobile, povo |
| 03 | softbank | SoftBank | Japan's third-largest mobile carrier. Entered the market by acquiring Vodafone in 2006. Top-class 5G coverage rate. | 2006-04-01 | Third Place | SoftBank Group Corp. | 2006-10-01 | Y!mobile, LINEMO |
| 04 | rakuten-mobile | Rakuten Mobile | Japan's fourth carrier. Full-scale service started in 2020. Built the world's first fully virtualized cloud-native network. | 2018-01-10 | Fourth Place | Rakuten Group, Inc. | 2020-04-08 | - |
- NTT DOCOMO Official Website official
- KDDI Official Website official
- SoftBank Official Website official
- Rakuten Mobile Official Website official
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: Trends in the Telecommunications Market official