Heya I have recently moved to Japan in conjunction with the US Military. I do not have a residence card as I am here on a status of forces agreement or SOFA. I would like to switch my iPhone to the Japan region to gain access to apps and content specific to the region. However in trying to do so you need to add a form of payment to iOS and my US Visa Debit does not work when it usually does when set to the USA region. My card works everywhere in town and at restaurants. Has anyone found banks or credit cards that work? Any possibility of getting something in Japan without a residence card? Thanks.
by seibishi
2 comments
You need a valid payment method in Japan, so a prepaid App Store Card might work.
https://support.apple.com/ja-jp/HT202631
You don’t need a residence card. I also live in Japan on a visa type that does not issue residence cards and I have both a Japanese visa debit and credit card from SMBC Prestia – works fine with App Store.