Disclaimer (2020-06-03): The first half of the guide (first page of registration) has now been updated to the latest version. The second section about Credit Card information has been left as-is since its UI has been left nearly the same since two years ago. Ignore the sudden jump in numbering as I have only updated the first half of the guide. That said, if there are any discrepancies please do let me know in the comments section!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Rakuten Bank is an online service that aims to provide various banking services to customers. Those who use or subscribe to various Rakuten services will often enjoy additional benefits for their banking needs. Just like with Rakuten Card, there are no physical offices you can go to so everything is managed online instead. Having an account with Rakuten is recommended if you heavily use things such as Card, Securities, Edy, or Super Points. In any case, you can read about a non-exhaustive list of advantages and disadvantages below:
Advantages
- All services available over the internet
- Enjoy additional benefits when linking bank to many other Rakuten services.
- Deposits can be done at Yuucho, and withdrawals from Yuucho and many popular convenience stores.
- It’s possible to have up to 5 transfers and 5 withdrawals free per month based on your “Happy Program” ranking.
Disadvantages
- If you ran out of free transfers and withdrawals, the fee can be pretty high (especially weekends/holidays)
- Extra work may be necessary to link other company’s services to Rakuten Bank (for billing/transfer purposes)
- Interest returns on your balance are lower compared to other companies.
Prerequisites
You, obviously, need to reside in Japan and also have at least one of:
- Japanese Driver’s License
- Health Insurance Card
- Residence Card
After you submit the application you will be asked to submit proof of document for one of the above. This can be done via mobile application or via snail mail. For obvious reason I recommend using the Rakuten Bank mobile app to upload images of your formal document of choice.
In addition, if you haven’t registered for a Rakuten group account yet, then I strongly advise you do so as the below guide is tailored for those who already have an account. Don’t worry, the registration should be very straightforward (Last/First Name, username, password, e-mail address).
Before You Start…
Don’t stay too long on a screen or else it will TIMEOUT and you will have to do it All. Over. Again. If you are slow in filling out Japanese forms then I recommend you look over this guide first and prepare in however way you wish before proceeding.
Application Process
Getting to the Application Form
Click here to support me (thank you!) and start the process of signing up for Rakuten Bank. Click on the red button in the middle of the page. 
If you have not logged into your Rakuten account yet, do so. If you do not yet own an account, go ahead and create one by clicking on the right-side button.
You will be transitioned to a temporary page stating you have successfully entered into the campaign, and will be redirected to the signup form in about five seconds.
Form Part A: Bank Account Info
Refer to the notes below the images for additional information:
名前：漢字) Your name should be input, in FULL-WIDTH ALPHABET, your name as shown on your residence card. If you’re like me who has strange characters in your name (such as a hyphen in first name), then omit it completely.
(eg “SMITH, ANNA-MARIE” should be “SMITH, ANNAMARIE”)
名前：フリガナ) If you registered your Rakuten group account using English name then this should be autofilled with “ー ー”. You can choose to leave as is or replace with Katakana reading.
性別) Left for Male, right for female. Nothing confusing here.
生年月日) Birthday. Nothing special here.
電話番号) Enter your phone number.
メールアドレス) This should be autofilled for you if you logged into your Rakuten group account. Just re-enter e-mail in confirmation box.
住所：郵便番号) Input your residence’s zip code and click button to the right.
住所：都道府県市区町村) Enter the rest of your address as printed on the back of your residence card.
Note the checkbox, which translates to”Please check this box if you do not have Japanese citizenship. Those with Japanese citizenship need not check this box.”
Hint: you should check this box.
「米国人」…) Check right box if you are American. Otherwise, check left one.
居住地国の確認) Check the above box if you only reside in Japan. In other words, unless you have tax responsibilities from staying in other countries, check the top box.
職業) Below is a formatted table of the selections:
| Full-Time Employee | Full-Time (Manager or Above) | Company Executive |
| Haken/Part-time/Contract/etc | Self-employed | Government/Education |
| Staff member of association | Doctor/Lawyer/etc | Housewife/Househusband |
| Student | Unemployed | |
| Other (Fill in the blank) |
(Depending on what you chose in #7 above, you may have to fill out the below. Otherwise just move on.)
Basically follow the notes directly on the image and fill in your company’s information as best you can.
Pick the kind of card you want. The types of cards go from debit cards to credit cards to simple bank (cash) cards. Keep in mind that you may need to provide additional information if you choose to get a cash card with credit option. Refer to the other link for how to register for Rakuten Card here for some additional references.
講座の利用目的) Must check one of the options above. Some common ones are:
生活費の払い: Personal expenses
給与/年金の受取: Salary Transfer
楽天サービスの利用: Use Rakuten Services
Select the type of document you will provide as personal verification, in the form of the following:
| Driver’s License | Personal My Number Card |
| Passport | Jūminhyō |
| Other |
楽天銀行toto) Rakuten Toto is the lottery business of Rakuten. It is not a required service so uncheck it if you do not need it.
楽天証券講座) Left box if you want to also create a stock brokerage account with Rakuten, otherwise check right box.
Check this required box to agree to the T&C. Afterwards click the “次へ” button on the bottom right.
Form Part B: Credit Card Info
Refer to the notes below the images for additional information:
Fill out #25-#27 as noted in image above.
28) Name in ROMAJI (Again)
29) Phone number
30) Maybe can leave blank
34) Here’s another table, in the same ordering:
| Married with children | Married without children | Not married with children |
| Single (living away from family) | Single (living with family) |
35) Put yourself in the count (so if you’re single with no dependents, put “一人世帯”)
36) Tables are fun!
| Own a house | Co-own a house with spouse | Co-own a house with someone not your spouse |
| Renting “mansion” | Renting “mansion” (Dormitory) | Renting “mansion” (Public Corporation) |
| Renting apartment | “Borrowing” a house | Company Dormitory |
| Dormitory | Boarding Housing | Others |
42) From left to right: working, student, unemployed, earning retirement benefits
43) If you earn your own income, check left. If you don’t, choose right.
44) Your yearly income (before tax!)
45 – 50) Same as the company information you may have filled out earlier on page 1.
51) Job Role:
| Education | Reception/Associate | Administration | Labor | Business | Sales |
| Technology | Driving | Other |
52) Type of Employee:
| Full-time Employee | Personal Business | Government | Part-time |
| Haken/Contract | Executive | Other |
The text below selection reads: If you are a student doing part-time work, fill in “Part-time”.
53) Industry:
| Manufacturing | Service | Retail |
| Educational Medicine | IT | Government |
| Construction | Insurance | Logistics/Shipping |
| Food/Restaurant | Real Estate | Printing |
| Utilities (water, gas, etc) | Agriculture | Others |
Confirm the following two points and click red button on bottom of page.
You have now reached the confirmation page (you are almost done!!)
Form Part C: Confirm + Submit
Make sure to check the box as shown (you can leave the others as-is – they’re not subscriptions to anything or whatever that will spam you)
Aaaand, you are done! You should receive an e-mail with the confirmation receipt number. Now it’s just a matter of waiting!
What To Do After
You are required to submit proof that you reside and work in Japan. You have the choice between multiple documents you can submit. The two most commonly used documents are your Residence Card or your Health Insurance Card. Choose one you prefer, download the Rakuten Bank App, and submit front/back images of your document through it. (Unfortunately I don’t have a test account so I cannot create a tutorial for this, but there’s no rush so please ask a trusted Japanese friend to help you!)
Search “Rakuten Bank” or “楽天銀行” on your phone, or scan the QR code on the receipt screen (OR, you can even scan the QR code in the above image!)
Trivia/Nice-To-Knows
Will add as I think of them.