Coverage Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1

Does Rakuten Mobile have good coverage in Tokyo?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Rakuten Mobile has excellent coverage in Tokyo, which benefits from comprehensive 5G Sub-6 GHz network coverage across urban areas. The 5G network in the Kanto region (Greater Tokyo Area) expanded by approximately 110% in 2024. 5G mmWave (millimeter-wave) is available in major districts like Shinjuku, Harajuku, and major train stations. The 700 MHz platinum band, launched in June 2024, significantly improves indoor and underground coverage throughout the city. Network speeds often exceed 200 Mbps, with peak speeds up to 1 Gbps in 5G areas.

Question 2

Is Rakuten Mobile coverage good in rural areas?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile's coverage in rural areas varies by location. The nationwide 4G LTE population coverage is approximately 99.9%, which includes both Rakuten's native infrastructure and au's partner network in areas where Rakuten has not yet built coverage. The 700 MHz platinum band launched in June 2024 has significantly improved rural coverage, especially for indoor penetration and filling coverage gaps. Major regional cities like Sendai, Sapporo, and other prefectural capitals have good 4G LTE coverage with increasing 5G deployment. However, remote mountainous areas and small islands may experience limited coverage depending on the specific location.

Question 3

What is Rakuten Mobile's 5G coverage like?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile operates approximately 17,200 outdoor 5G base stations across all 47 prefectures as of May 2024. 5G Sub-6 GHz provides wide-area coverage with speeds up to 1 Gbps in major metropolitan areas including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Sapporo. 5G mmWave technology is available in limited urban zones like major train stations and stadiums, offering even higher speeds. The 5G network in the Kanto region (Tokyo area) expanded by approximately 110% in 2024-2025, with other regions seeing expansion rates of 40-100%. More than 80% of base stations use Massive-MIMO antennas for improved speeds and capacity. 4G LTE serves as fallback coverage in all areas.

Question 4

Does Rakuten Mobile work in Osaka?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Rakuten Mobile works very well in Osaka. The city has seen significant 5G network expansion with base station upgrades that doubled average speeds. Osaka offers comprehensive 5G Sub-6 GHz coverage, with 5G mmWave available in the city center. Network speeds typically range from 500-800 Mbps in 5G areas, with peaks up to 1 Gbps. The 700 MHz platinum band launched in June 2024 improves indoor coverage in buildings and underground areas. Osaka, being part of the Kansai region, benefits from Rakuten's strong native infrastructure throughout the metropolitan area.

Question 5

How does Rakuten coverage compare to other carriers?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile achieves approximately 99.9% nationwide 4G LTE population coverage, comparable to established carriers NTT Docomo, au, and SoftBank. Key differences: Rakuten operates a newer network infrastructure built over recent years versus traditional carriers' larger infrastructure built over decades. Rakuten excels in major metropolitan areas with its own native infrastructure. In areas without native coverage, Rakuten uses au's partner network to ensure nationwide connectivity. The 700 MHz platinum band launched in June 2024 helps close the gap with traditional carriers for indoor and underground coverage. Rakuten's advantage is significantly lower pricing while achieving competitive coverage in populated areas where most users live and work.

Question 6

What is Rakuten Mobile's population coverage in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile achieves approximately 99.9% nationwide 4G LTE population coverage across all 47 prefectures. This includes both Rakuten's native infrastructure and au's partner network. Major metropolitan areas including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Sapporo have extensive native coverage. The network includes approximately 17,200 outdoor 5G base stations as of May 2024, with more than 80% utilizing Massive-MIMO technology. The 700 MHz platinum band launched in June 2024 and continues to expand as part of Rakuten's long-term network development roadmap, further improving indoor and rural coverage.

Question 7

Does Rakuten Mobile use partner networks?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in areas without Rakuten's native infrastructure, Rakuten Mobile uses au's partner network to ensure nationwide coverage. This partnership ensures you have coverage throughout Japan while Rakuten continues expanding its native network. Major metropolitan areas including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Sapporo primarily use Rakuten's native infrastructure with excellent 4G/5G coverage. Check the official Rakuten Mobile site for current data conditions in partner areas, and use the coverage map to see which areas use native versus partner networks before signing up.

Question 8

Once my area is covered, how do I sign up and get referral points?

Accepted Answer

After confirming your area is covered, you can apply for the Rakuten Saikyo Plan through the employee referral link and earn 14,000 Rakuten points for an MNP transfer (keeping your number), or 13,000 points for a new sign-up. The application is available in English, accepts a residence card, and plans start from ¥1,078/month with no contract.

Question 9

How can I find the location of Rakuten Mobile base stations?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile does not publish the coordinates of individual base stations. The official area map shows the area where service is available as shaded polygons, not the antennas themselves. If you need licence-level detail, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) runs a public radio station licence search on its Denpa Riyo Homepage, where you can search by licensee name and region. For everyday purposes the prefecture coverage table on this page and the official area map will tell you what you need.

Question 10

Is there a way to check where the nearest Rakuten antenna is?

Accepted Answer

Exact antenna positions are not public, so there is no way to pin one on a map. Three practical alternatives: search the MIC radio station licence database for licensed stations in your area; check your specific address on Rakuten's official area map to see whether it falls inside the Rakuten-owned network; or read the connected network and signal strength (in dBm) directly from your phone, using iOS Field Test Mode or the network settings screen on Android. Readings weaker than about -100 dBm usually mean indoor reception is the limiting factor rather than coverage.

Question 11

What should I do if my Rakuten Mobile signal is weak?

Accepted Answer

Restart the phone first, then toggle airplane mode to force a fresh network attach. If that does not help, work through these in order: turn automatic network selection off and back on, switch the 4G/5G preference, reseat the SIM, or reissue the eSIM. Indoors, moving near a window often helps. The 700MHz platinum band launched in June 2024 improves indoor and underground penetration, but its footprint is still expanding. If one specific location is consistently dead, check on the official area map whether it is Rakuten-owned or au roaming territory, then report the location to Rakuten Mobile support — that is the only route that leads to an actual fix.

Question 12

How do I tell whether I am on the Rakuten network or au roaming?

Accepted Answer

Search your address or nearest station on Rakuten's official area map: the colour coding distinguishes Rakuten-owned areas from partner (au roaming) areas. There is no data cap in either area on the Rakuten Saikyo Plan (since June 2023), but throughput in busy partner areas can be noticeably lower. The prefecture table on this page shows which prefectures are largely served by Rakuten's own infrastructure and which still lean on partner roaming.

Question 13

How much further will Rakuten Mobile 5G coverage expand?

Accepted Answer

Rakuten Mobile is still building out 5G across all 47 prefectures. Between 2024 and 2025 it expanded 5G coverage by roughly 110% in Kanto (greater Tokyo), roughly doubled it in Okinawa, and added about 40% in Yamaguchi, through software updates, power output adjustments, and the addition of the 700MHz platinum band. New areas are added monthly. Rakuten does not publish a district-level schedule of planned expansion, so there is no way to know in advance when a specific address will be added — the official area map is the only reliable check for the current status.

Question 14

What is the difference between an "area map" and a "base station map"?

Accepted Answer

An area map shows where service is available as a shaded region, which is what you want if you are asking whether your home or a place you are moving to is covered before you switch carriers. A base station map means plotting the transmitters themselves as points, which is what existing subscribers reach for when diagnosing weak signal. Rakuten Mobile does not publish individual base station locations, so only the area map exists officially. This page supports both needs: coverage confirmation for an address, and a prefecture-by-prefecture view of how much of each area runs on Rakuten's own network.

Prefecture	Coverage	Population coverage	Technology
Tokyo	Excellent	99.96%	5G + mmWave
Kanagawa	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Saitama	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Chiba	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Ibaraki	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Tochigi	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Gunma	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Osaka	Excellent	99.94%	5G + mmWave
Kyoto	Excellent	99.7%	5G Sub-6
Hyogo	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Nara	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Shiga	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Wakayama	Good	99.4%	Mixed
Aichi	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Shizuoka	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Niigata	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Gifu	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Mie	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Ishikawa	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Toyama	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Fukui	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Nagano	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Yamanashi	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Miyagi	Excellent	99.7%	5G Sub-6
Fukushima	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Yamagata	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Iwate	Good	99.4%	Mixed
Akita	Good	99.5%	Mixed
Aomori	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Hokkaido	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Hiroshima	Excellent	99.9%	5G Sub-6
Okayama	Good	99.7%	Mixed
Yamaguchi	Good	99.8%	Mixed
Shimane	Limited	99.2%	Mixed
Tottori	Good	99.4%	Mixed
Kagawa	Good	99.5%	Mixed
Ehime	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Tokushima	Limited	99.1%	Mixed
Kochi	Limited	98.7%	Mixed
Fukuoka	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Kumamoto	Good	99.6%	Mixed
Kagoshima	Limited	98.8%	Mixed
Nagasaki	Limited	96.5%	Mixed
Oita	Good	99.4%	Mixed
Miyazaki	Good	99.1%	Mixed
Saga	Excellent	99.8%	5G Sub-6
Okinawa	Excellent	99.2%	5G Sub-6

Rakuten Mobile Coverage Map Japan

Coverage by prefecture (all 47)