GoKawiilNTT Docomo's 3G shutdown accelerates end of Japan's flip phones
Japan's long-lived 'gara-kei' feature phones, clamshell devices with physical keyboards that persisted even as smartphones dominated elsewhere, are rapidly disappearing. Docomo data shows smartphone ownership rose from 90% in 2021 to 98% in 2025, while MM Research Institute reports feature phone shipments fell over 25% to under 400,000 units in the first half of fiscal 2025. The decline is expected to speed up after NTT Docomo shut down the country's remaining 3G network this past March.