The implied indignation in Mike Elgan's post about the UK's audacity to require a passport to buy even a prepaid cellphone shows that he's never tried to buy one as a foreigner in Japan. It was among the most annoying things I did when I lived there—you don't just need a passport (that would've been immensely easier), you also need your gaijin card—officially the gaikokujin torokusho—that takes at least a month to get (after you've gotten your visa settled), or at least the receipt showing you've applied for it, just to get a crappy prepaid phone.

http://gizmodo.com/5065554/uk-to-req...ter-than-japan