SoftBank just made a very telling move in Japan’s mobile market: from January 21, 2026, it will stop charging online administrative fees for certain eSIM-related procedures, while keeping (and clearly pricing) the physical SIM alternative.

If you’ve ever felt like “digital” processes somehow still come with very analog fees, this is SoftBank quietly admitting that eSIM self-service should not feel like a paid upgrade.

According to SoftBank’s own updated fee revision notice (originally posted July 18, 2025 and updated January 7, 2026), the company will revise web fees for SIM reissues and “model changes without device purchase” so that eSIM procedures are free, while USIM (physical SIM) procedures via web come with a JPY 1,100 fee.

What SoftBank actually changed (and when)

Let’s get specific, because “fees revised” can mean anything from a tiny tweak to a total U-turn.

SoftBank’s update is tied to web-based procedures, with the key effective date being January 21, 2026.

The headline part for eSIM users is this:

eSIM actions that become free online

SoftBank’s table shows that for web procedures related to:

• SIM reissue (eSIM), and
• model change without buying a new device (eSIM)

…the web administrative fee becomes free.

SoftBank is also framing this as formalising something that had been “temporarily free” before, and now locking it in as the permanent default for eSIM-related online self-service.

The not-so-hidden tradeoff: physical SIM now has a clear price

SoftBank is not “making everything free.” It’s drawing a line between digital provisioning and physical logistics.

In the same fee table, USIM (physical SIM) web procedures for the same categories are priced at JPY 1,100. That number is explicitly linked to issuance and delivery costs in Japanese coverage of the announcement.

This is the part many carriers try to avoid saying out loud, but SoftBank is basically doing the math in public: if we have to print, package, and ship something, you pay a small fee. If we can push a profile digitally, we want you to do it yourself, and we want it frictionless.

Why this matters more than it sounds

On paper, this looks like a small fee change. In reality, it’s a nudge that reveals where the market is going.

eSIM is not just a “new SIM format.” It’s a customer-behaviour shift: fewer store visits, fewer call-centre interactions, fewer physical fulfilment steps, and faster device switching. When carriers remove fees from digital self-service, they’re trying to make the “default path” feel obvious.

SoftBank even spells out scenarios where you can avoid fees entirely by using device-to-device transfer features like eSIM Quick Transfer on iOS or Android eSIM transfer on supported Android devices, which is another way of saying: please don’t make this a human-supported process unless you really have to.

How SoftBank’s move compares with Japan’s other big players

SoftBank isn’t doing this in a vacuum. Japan’s major carriers have been steadily adjusting SIM and eSIM fee logic, but not always in the same direction.

NTT DOCOMO: fees can still apply for reissue

DOCOMO’s support information notes that a SIM profile reissue fee of JPY 4,950 (tax included) may be required in some cases, especially when handled via shop or support channels rather than pure self-service.

In other words: DOCOMO still keeps a meaningful “paid layer” around reissue support, which makes SoftBank’s decision to set eSIM web reissue to zero feel more aggressive and more behaviour-shaping.

KDDI au: “free for now” has been a theme

KDDI has been moving toward fee-free eSIM reissue online as well, but much of the messaging has leaned on “for the time being” free campaigns. For example, reporting in 2025 described KDDI making web-based eSIM reissue fees temporarily free starting September 1, depending on the specific type of change.

SoftBank’s difference is the “formalising” angle: taking something that may have been treated like a campaign and writing it into the structure.

Rakuten Mobile: eSIM reissue is already positioned as zero-cost

Rakuten Mobile has been very direct on this: it announced that eSIM exchange and reissue fees would remain 0 yen, while physical SIM reissue would cost JPY 3,300 from December 2023.

So SoftBank’s new model lands closer to Rakuten’s philosophy: make the digital path free, attach cost to the physical object.

What this means if you’re an eSIM user (or thinking like one)

If you’re a frequent traveller, a dual-SIM power user, or someone who changes phones more often than your carrier would like, this kind of fee structure matters because it reduces “switching friction.”

Even if you’re not a SoftBank customer, this signals a wider trend: carriers are learning that charging for eSIM operations is basically charging customers for trying to be efficient.

For Japan specifically, it also aligns with a market where eSIM-capable devices are now mainstream, and where carriers want fewer in-store operations for routine account maintenance. SoftBank’s move also covers its related brands, including Y!mobile and LINEMO, based on Japanese reporting of the same fee revision.

Conclusion

This is SoftBank choosing a side: eSIM is the “preferred behaviour,” physical SIM is the “service with real-world handling costs.” The interesting part is not the 0 yen, it’s the intention. SoftBank is building a pricing story where digital provisioning is the default, and anything involving plastic, shipping, or staff time becomes the paid exception.

Compared with DOCOMO’s still-possible JPY 4,950 reissue fee scenarios and KDDI’s history of “temporarily free” eSIM campaigns, SoftBank looks like it’s trying to make free eSIM self-service feel permanent and predictable. And Rakuten’s long-running approach adds pressure, because once one major player normalises 0 yen for eSIM reissue, everyone else starts looking like they’re taxing modern usage.

The bigger trend here is simple: carriers are re-pricing admin fees as behavioural design. If you do it online and keep it digital, the fee disappears. If you want physical fulfilment or human handling, you pay. Expect more operators, in Japan and beyond, to copy this exact playbook in 2026 because it reduces costs, speeds up support, and makes eSIM adoption feel inevitable rather than optional.