Keep your Japanese phone number active while abroad

To keep a Japanese number active abroad, apply for that carrier's storage product before you leave. docomo stops calls and communications when you apply, au says the phone, mail and SMS cannot be used during the hold, and the SoftBank page does not print that stop. docomo stores the number for up to 6 years from the 1st of the next month, au's 5-year hold ends when the period expires, and SoftBank's 5-year hold ends on the last day of month 60.

The end dates are not one 5-year hold

docomo's storage page, checked 3 October 2026, states: "「電話番号保管期間」が満了した場合は、期間満了日の翌月1日をもって5G／Xi契約が解除となります。" When the storage period is over, the 5G/Xi contract ends on the 1st of the following month. docomo starts that period on the 1st of the month after you apply, and docomo's maximum is 6 years.

au prints a 5-year maximum, and the contract ends when the storage period expires. The month after you apply counts as month 1. SoftBank's storage page also prints 5 years, counted as 60 months, and the contract ends on the last day of that 60th month. Its worked example is an application on 15 January 2020 with a deadline of 31 January 2025. That example is the calendar rule, not a deadline for a reader applying now. The note after the example says there is no advance notice of that ending.

docomo, au and SoftBank each keep their own end date. China's suspend-and-hold is also something you apply and pay for, and the China Mobile page we published does not print these three end dates.

What each page prints about calls and texts

au's suspension page, checked the same day, states: "一時休止中は電話、ネット、メール、SMS、電話回線およびネットワークに接続が必要なサービスはご利用できません。" During the hold you cannot use the phone, the internet, mail, SMS, or a service that needs the line or the network. The same page stores the mail address. Mail already saved on KDDI's server is deleted and cannot be restored. The 409 yen is not keeping the inbox.

docomo number storage stops calls and communications at the moment you apply. The sentence before that one says a reservation application cannot be made. The docomo sentence uses 通話・通信.

The SoftBank page we opened does not print a sentence about calls or texts during storage. Whether a bank will text a Japanese number that is still in ordinary service sits on the bank OTP pages.

au's card quotes the UQ mobile sentence from that same page. The sentence names UQ mobile.

What each carrier prints for the fee

au's page states: "海外赴任や海外留学など、長期間au携帯電話をご利用されない場合、一時休止手続きにて電話番号とメールアドレスを月額409円／税込でお預かりします。" A long absence is handled by temporary suspension, and the number and the mail address are stored at 409 yen a month, tax included, in that sentence. The fee block on the same page prints 409 yen again without repeating 税込, plus a handling fee of 4,950 yen, or 3,850 yen on My au. A universal service fee and a telephone relay service fee are charged every month and are not priced there.

docomo's monthly row prints 440 yen (税込) for the number and 110 yen (税込) for the mail address. The application fee on that page is 4,950 yen (税込), or 1,100 yen (税込) if you apply in docomo's online procedure. Those are separate from docomo's 440 yen.

SoftBank number storage is printed as 429 yen a month. The page opened on 3 October 2026 does not print 税, so this row leaves the 429 yen without a tax label. Application is at a SoftBank shop and needs an identity document.

Carrier	Monthly fee as printed	Maximum as printed	When the contract ends	Calls and texts as printed
docomo	440 yen (税込) for the number; 110 yen (税込) for the mail address	Up to 6 years	The 1st of the month after the period	Calls and communications stop when you apply
au	409 yen a month, 税込 in the intro sentence	5 years	When the storage period expires	Phone, internet, mail and SMS cannot be used
SoftBank	429 yen	5 years	The last day of month 60	unverified

Dated changes are on the changelog. Holding, parking, porting or letting the number go is compared on the options page.

Questions people ask

How long can I keep a Japanese phone number while abroad?

docomo prints up to 6 years, starting the 1st of the month after you apply, and the contract ends on the 1st of the month after that period. au and SoftBank both print 5 years. au's contract ends when the storage period expires. SoftBank's ends on the last day of month 60.

Does a stored Japanese number receive text messages?

au's page says phone, internet, mail and SMS cannot be used during the hold. docomo's page says calls and communications stop when you apply, and the word on that page is 通信, not SMS. The SoftBank page we opened does not print a sentence about texts or calls during storage. A text to a number that is still in ordinary service is a different question, and it belongs on the bank pages linked above.

What do the three carrier pages offer?

The three pages opened on 3 October 2026 are storage applications.