Rakuten Card Application Denied as a Foreigner in Japan? What to Do Next

Updated November 2026 · GaijinHome

Rakuten Card has a reputation as the "easy" credit card in Japan. Friends tell you it is the one everyone gets approved for, blogs call it the best first card for newcomers, and the application takes about ten minutes on your phone. So when you open your inbox and find a short, polite email saying your application "could not be accepted this time" (今回はご希望に添いかねる結果となりました), it can feel personal, confusing, and a little embarrassing.

It is not personal, and it is very common. Rakuten Card approves a lot of people, but it also rejects a lot of foreign residents, especially in their first year in Japan. The good news is that most rejections come from a small set of fixable causes. This article explains what actually happened behind that email, the mistakes that most often cause a denial, and a step-by-step plan to either get approved next time or get by without a credit card in the meantime.

What actually happens

When you submit a Rakuten Card application, two things happen almost immediately. First, your answers are checked against Rakuten's own internal scoring rules: your age, how long you have lived at your address, your employment type, annual income, years at your current job, housing type, and your residence status. Second, Rakuten Card queries Japan's credit bureaus, mainly CIC and JICC, to see what record you have (or do not have) in Japan.

Many applications are decided automatically within minutes or a few hours. Others go to manual review, which can include an employment verification call to your workplace (在籍確認, zaiseki kakunin) or a call to your mobile phone. If the result is negative, you receive a short email or notice. Rakuten Card, like almost all Japanese card issuers, does not tell you the specific reason, and calling customer support will not get you one either. The support staff genuinely do not have a reason they can share.

What you usually do not realize is that the application itself is now recorded at the credit bureau. In Japan, credit application records are generally kept for about six months. During that time, any other card company that checks your file can see that you applied recently, and if they see several applications in a short period, they may treat you as a higher risk.

Why it happens

Rakuten Card is not rejecting you because you are a foreigner as such. It is rejecting a risk profile that newly arrived foreigners often happen to match. Understanding the structural reasons helps you decide whether to wait, fix something, or switch strategy.

1. No credit history in Japan (a "white" file)

Your credit history from your home country does not transfer to Japan. To CIC and JICC you are a blank file, sometimes called スーパーホワイト ("super white"). A blank file is not negative, but combined with other weak signals it gives the scoring system very little to approve you on.

2. Residence period and visa type

Card issuers look at how long your period of stay (在留期間) has left and how stable your status is. If your residence card shows a short period, such as one year, or the expiry date is only a few months away, the issuer may worry you will leave Japan with an unpaid balance. Statuses tied to temporary situations, such as working holiday or short-term student, are generally harder than work visas, spouse visas, or permanent residency.

3. Short time at your job and address

Scoring systems in Japan put a lot of weight on stability: years at the same employer (勤続年数) and years at the same address (居住年数). A foreigner who arrived three months ago will almost always enter "0 years" for both, which is one of the weakest possible combinations, regardless of salary.

4. Employment type and income

Full-time permanent employees (正社員) score best. Contract workers (契約社員), dispatch staff (派遣社員), part-timers, and freelancers can still be approved, but the margin is smaller. Freelancers with no Japanese tax filing history are particularly hard to approve because the issuer has no evidence of stable income in Japan.

5. Phone number, verification, and language problems

Rakuten Card may call you or your workplace to confirm details. If the call is unanswered, goes to a colleague who does not know your name in katakana, or you cannot handle the call in Japanese, the application can stall or fail. Applying with a phone number that is not a Japanese mobile number, or that is registered under someone else's name, can also cause problems.

6. Payment problems you might not know about

If you bought a smartphone on installments and missed or were late on a payment, even by accident when your bank account changed, that delay can appear on your credit file. Late utility bills usually do not, but late phone installment payments generally do.

Common mistakes

1. Name mismatch. Entering your name differently from your residence card (在留カード), bank account, or phone contract. Order of names, missing middle names, and katakana spelling differences can all cause the system to fail identity checks. Copy the name exactly as on your residence card.
2. Applying for a large cash advance limit. The application has a section for cash advance (キャッシング枠). Requesting a cash advance limit triggers stricter checks. Set it to 0 yen (希望しない) on your first application.
3. Applying right after arrival. Applying before your address, phone, bank account, and job are settled gives the weakest possible picture.
4. Inflating income or employment details. Overstating salary or listing a job title you do not hold yet can be caught during verification and leads to a rejection that is worse than an honest, lower number.
5. Shotgunning applications. Applying for Rakuten Card, then another card the next day, then another the following week. Each application is visible to the others.

Step-by-step fix

1. Stop applying for at least six months. Mark the date of your Rakuten Card application in your calendar. Since application records generally stay on your credit file for about six months, waiting that long gives you a clean slate for the next attempt.
2. Check your credit file (optional but useful). You can request your own credit report from CIC and JICC for a small fee. It shows whether a late payment or another problem you did not know about is on your record. For more context, see our article on credit card rejection with no credit history.
3. Get a debit card now so daily life still works. Most things a credit card does in daily life, a Japanese debit card can also do: online shopping, subscriptions, many utility payments, and travel bookings. Rakuten Bank, Sony Bank, and major banks offer Visa or JCB debit cards that do not require a credit check. If you have not opened a bank account yet, see our article on bank account rejections for foreigners and on Japan Post Bank denials.
4. Start building a Japanese record. Paying a smartphone on monthly installments and never missing a payment is one of the most common ways foreign residents begin a credit history in Japan. Keep your bank account funded the day before every withdrawal date.
5. Stabilize the details the scoring system cares about. Wait until you have passed your probation period at work, have a few months at your current address, and ideally have renewed or extended your residence status. Each of these makes the next application stronger.
6. Prepare for the verification call. Tell your HR or reception that a card company might call to confirm you work there, and give them the katakana spelling of your name. If you are worried about handling a call to your own phone in Japanese, practice a few basic phrases: confirming your name, date of birth, and employer. A few targeted lessons can help here, for example with a tutor on [PR] italki, where you can ask a teacher to role-play a card company verification call.
7. Reapply carefully, once. When you reapply, use exactly the same name format as your residence card, set the cash advance limit to zero, enter accurate income and years of employment, and use your own Japanese mobile number. Apply to only one card at a time.
8. If you are rejected again, change card type rather than repeating. Cards connected to a store or bank you already use (for example, a card from the bank where your salary is paid, or a department store or supermarket card) sometimes use different criteria. Some foreign residents also get their first card through their employer's corporate card program or a student card if they are enrolled at a Japanese school.

One extra point that matters for housing: many rental guarantor companies in Japan are run by or linked to credit card companies, and some landlords require rent to be paid by credit card. If a card rejection is now blocking an apartment application, read our article on renting without a guarantor and on what to do after an apartment rejection. Not every guarantor company checks credit card bureau records, so a card denial does not automatically mean a rental denial.

Required documents

Rakuten Card applications are mostly online, but you should have the following ready, and the details on every one of them should match exactly.

• Residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo), with your current address registered on the back
• Your Japanese address exactly as registered at the city office (住民票, jūminhyō address)
• Japanese mobile phone number registered in your own name
• Japanese bank account for automatic payment (口座振替, kōza furikae), with the account holder name matching your residence card
• Employer name, address, and phone number (勤務先情報, kinmusaki jōhō)
• Your annual income before tax (年収, nenshū), from your employment contract or payslip
• Your start date at your current job and move-in date at your current address
• My Number card (マイナンバーカード) or other identity document, if requested for online identity verification

City / region differences

Rakuten Card's screening is national and does not change depending on which city you live in. However, your location affects your practical situation in a few ways.

Tokyo and Yokohama: Large employers in Tokyo often have HR departments used to verification calls for foreign staff, which makes the employment check smoother. Tokyo also has more bank branches with English support, so getting a debit card in the meantime is easier. On the other hand, many people in Tokyo move apartments frequently, which keeps their "years at address" at zero.

Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto: The Kansai region has a large foreign student population. Students are typically on shorter periods of stay and have low or no income, which makes general credit cards harder. A student-focused card or a debit card is usually the realistic first step.

Nagoya and Fukuoka: Many foreign residents here work in manufacturing, technical intern programs, or for smaller companies. Dispatch and contract employment are common, and smaller employers may not have someone at the reception who knows how to handle a card company's verification call. Telling your manager in advance makes a real difference.

Frequently Asked Questions