Last year, a consortium of railway companies in Japan announced a temporary halt to the sale of Suica and Pasmo rechargeable cards due to chip shortages. Initially restricted to cards without the need for personal data registration, the suspension was extended to include registered cards, with sales limited to tourist-specific cards for a limited time.
Recently, Pasmo announced that both Suica and Pasmo rechargeable cards will resume regular sales, but only for registered cards. Non-registered cards will remain discontinued. These changes took effect starting September 1, 2024.
In addition, the Welcome Suica cards for tourists will expand their distribution points beyond Narita and Haneda airports to major railway stations such as Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and Ueno.
Source: NHK and JR East (pdf)
TLDR: Railway companies in Japan temporarily stopped selling Suica and Pasmo cards due to chip shortages, but have now resumed sales for registered cards only. Welcome Suica cards will be available at more railway stations for tourists.
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