Japanese mobile carriers offer major smartphone discounts via MNP

Major Japanese mobile carriers are offering significant discounts on flagship smartphones through Mobile Number Portability (MNP) transfers.

Docomo has updated its ‘5G WELCOME割’ program. Under this initiative, the Galaxy S26 (256GB) receives a discount of 43,989 yen, bringing the price down to 108,801 yen. The Google Pixel 11 (256GB) is also discounted by 43,879 yen via MNP, resulting in a price of 108,801 yen. Existing Docomo users can access a separate ‘Online Otoku Wari’ discount of 16,500 yen.

Meanwhile, KDDI’s au brand has increased its ‘au Online Shop Otoku Wari’ discount. For the iPhone Air (256GB), the discount was raised from 22,000 yen to a maximum of 44,000 yen. When combined with the ‘au Replacement Benefit’ for users upgrading their devices, the effective cost for the iPhone Air can be reduced to as low as 47 yen when utilizing the ‘Smartphone Toku Suru Program+’ residual value system.