Tourism Sales of Suica and Pasmo cards suspended indefinitely

[thomas]

As of Wednesday, sales of Suica and Pasmo cards issued by JR East have been suspended. Suica has become an extremely convenient and near-ubiquitous part of daily life in Japan. Originally only used for buying tickets for JR lines, Suica cards can now be used on a variety of train and subway lines operated by other companies as well, and they are also a way to quickly and easily pay for all sorts of items and services, from vending machine drinks to Uniqlo T-shirts to restaurant bills. Suica, and the similar alternative card Pasmo, are especially handy when travelling in Japan.

Temporary suspension of sales for non-personalized Suica and PASMO cards
A global semiconductor shortage has made it difficult for manufacturers to obtain the required number of IC chips, which has in turn made it difficult to produce the required number of cards. As a result, we are temporarily suspending the sales of non-personalized Suica and PASMO cards from Thursday, June 8. See below for further details. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes to customers who wish to purchase non-personalized Suica or PASMO cards, and we appreciate your understanding and support.

https://www.pasmo.co.jp/visitors/en/news/pdf/20230602_press_release_Suspension_of_Suica_and_PASMO_sales_EN.pdf

Regarding the End of New Sales of PASMO Cards

Regarding the End of New Sales of PASMO Cards

www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp

Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely

When arriving in Japan, ordinarily one of the first things you’d want to do is to get yourself a Suica card. As of Wednesday, though, that’s not an option, as sales of the rechargeable e-money card, issued by East Japan Railway (JR East), have been suspended. Suica has become an extremely...

japantoday.com

 

[Lothor]

I don't quite get this. The amount of IC chips in such a card must be tiny compared with that in an average electronic device. Why are there not shortages of other devices?

 

[mdchachi]

I don't quite get this. The amount of IC chips in such a card must be tiny compared with that in an average electronic device. Why are there not shortages of other devices?

Maybe they didn't want to pay whatever premium was required to keep the supply going.

 

[nice gaijin]

oh crap! thank goodness I think I have an old suica on hand

This could be incredibly inconvenient for tourists if the mobile versions aren't compatible with their phones...

 

[Petaris]

oh crap! thank goodness I think I have an old suica on hand

This could be incredibly inconvenient for tourists if the mobile versions aren't compatible with their phones...

Indeed. And I do not believe they are. I looked into it last year and found that the NFC standard used in the US is different from that used in Japan (NFC-F - FeLiCa).
I was actually looking at using the mobile version of the Suica when I looked into this.

 

[mdchachi]

oh crap! thank goodness I think I have an old suica on hand

This could be incredibly inconvenient for tourists if the mobile versions aren't compatible with their phones...

The article says "non-personalized" cards. So presumably they could still buy a more expensive premium/souvenir card.

 

[Petaris]

They are still selling ICOCA cards as well. I just got my eldest one this trip. This is actually what I use whenever I am in Japan. Everyone seems to take it for train and bus fares, and some convenience stores and vending machines do as well.

 

[thomas]

The major railway operators in eastern Japan, including JR East and Pasmo, are set to restart sales of their contactless travel passes, Suica and Pasmo, on 1 September 2024. These passes were suspended last year due to a shortage of necessary chips. While the companies now have sufficient chips to resume sales, they will initially only be available to passengers who register their personal information. The decision on whether to offer anonymous passes remains pending.

The "Welcome Suica" pass for foreign tourists will also be available for purchase at tourist information counters at main stations in Tokyo. JR East had previously restricted its sales to Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport. The tourist pass will now be sold at Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Ueno stations at the Eki-Tabi Concierge.

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www.nytimes.com

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Mobile Suica and the cooperation of the JRE point are advantageous



There is the following merit when it cooperates with mobile Suica at a JRE point.
① where the points collect by the use of the conventional line and green ticket.
② where the points collect by the payment in town ナカ and in-station stores.
③ where the points collect in a charge to mobile Suica.
It is necessary to register Suica with the JRE POINT WEB site to cooperate with mobile Suica at a JRE point, and to accumulate a point. Because unsigned Suica and commemorative Suica cannot register, I cannot accumulate a point. mobile Suica and the merits by the cooperation of the JRE point are as follows.
① where the points collect by the use of the conventional line and green ticket.
② where the points collect by the payment in town ナカ and in-station stores.
③ where the points collect in a charge to mobile Suica.
A charge to mobile Suica is an automatic charge, but 1.5% of point reduction is provided by the manual operation.

 

[thomas]

Suica and Pasmo cards will be available again during spring travel. Suica and Pasmo are prepaid IC cards widely used for transportation and shopping in Japan. Initially designed for train and subway fare payment, they allow users to tap at ticket gates to deduct fares automatically. When the balance runs low, cards can be recharged with cash or credit at terminals. Beyond transportation, Suica and Pasmo are now accepted at many restaurants, shops, and vending machines across Japan. However, in June 2023, JR East and Pasmo Co. suspended new card issuance due to a semiconductor shortage affecting the production of IC chips.

無記名の「Suica」・「PASMO」カード発売の再開に関するお知らせ

東日本旅客鉄道株式会社のプレスリリース（2025年2月18日 14時00分）無記名の「Suica」・「PASMO」カード発売の再開に関するお知らせ

prtimes.jp

無記名式のSuicaとPASMO 3月1日販売再開へ 半導体不足解消で | NHK

【NHK】交通系ICカードのSuicaとPASMOの無記名式のカードの販売が3月1日から再開されることになりました。世界的な半導体…

www3.nhk.or.jp

 

[johnnyG]

Second week of january when I went to tokyo for a couple nights, my wife "let" me borrow here two suica cards for the trip (two since I was meeting an old friend there). They certainly are convenient for the trains--I'd never want to go back to buying tickets. And of course I topped them up before returning them to her.

 

[thomas]

I got used to using the Suica app, but I keep wondering what happens if your smartphone runs out of juice on the train.

 

[Petaris]

I got used to using the Suica app, but I keep wondering what happens if your smartphone runs out of juice on the train.

That is one of the reasons I prefer the cards.