Due to many reasons, iTunes Store is not an international store, and it will not be. Each country has its own iTunes Store, so does Japan. Many of iTunes Japan Store’s contents like games, apps and musics aren’t available in other countries’ iTunes Store. Therefore, you need an iTunes Japan Store account in order to purchase paid contents or download free contents in iTunes Japan Store. You need a Japanese credit card or an iTunes Japan Gift Card if you want to purchase paid contents. If you just want to download some free apps or games, you don’t need either of those. This tutorial will teach you how to create a Japanese iTunes account without a Japanese credit card or an iTunes Japan Gift Card.

Prerequisites

An unused email account that isn’t connected to any iTunes account. If you use Gmail as your email provider, you can use the + trick to make a ‘new’ email. So japancodes+jp@gmail.com counts as a different email as japancodes@gmail.com to Apple, but Google treats both emails as identical, just like how it ignores dot separators. So no creating new/finding old emails.

A computer with iTunes downloaded into it.

Instructions

Step 1: Open iTunes. Sign out of your iTunes account if you are signed in.

Step 2: Go to the store. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and you should see a flag of a country. Click on it.

Step 3: Now select Japan as from the countries listed.

Step 4: Search for Apple Store, click the app and click Get. You can choose to buy any free app. Remember, it must be completely free. YOU NEED TO HAVE CLICKED A FREE APP DOWNLOAD FIRST OR ELSE YOU WON’T GET THE OPTION OF NOT USING A CREDIT CARD.

Step 5: Click Create Apple ID.

Step 6: Click Continue

Step 7: Accept iTunes Store Japan’s Terms and Conditions and Apple Privacy Policy.

Step 8: Enter a clean email address. Enter a password. Enter your security info. Click Continue.

Step 9: Provide a payment method.

The Payment Type “None” should be preselected for you. Leave the gift card area blank. If it is not preselected, choose option “None” (although you may have done something wrong if it is not preselected).

The phonetic pronunciation it can be anything. You can use “ジャパン コード”.

Input any Japanese hotel address, or just use the following:

Postal Code: 160–0023

Select “Tokyo” from the drop down box.

Type: “Shinjuku-ku” in the box to the right of Tokyo.

Address: “Nishishinjuku 6–12–6” or anything you want. Leave the rest blank.

Phone: 03 3344–5111

Note the information you used somewhere so you don’t forget it. Click “Create Apple ID”.

If you want to purchase paid contents from iTunes Japan Store and you don’t have a Japanese credit card, get an iTunes Japan Gift Card.