Japan says goodbye to gara-kei flip phones as shipments fall below 400,000

NTT Docomo's shutdown of its remaining 3G network in March 2026 has accelerated the decline of Japan's gara-kei feature phones. Shipments fell over 25% to under 400,000 units in the first half of fiscal 2025, while smartphone ownership rose from 90% in 2021 to 98% in 2025, according to MM Research Institute.

• Docomo ended 3G service in March 2026, affecting about 500,000 users and 400+ phone models
• Feature phone shipments in Japan dropped over 25% to under 400,000 units in half a year
• Smartphone share of mobile owners rose from 90% in 2021 to 98% in 2025
• au and SoftBank shut down 3G in 2022 and 2024; 29% of Japan's population is over 65