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Door staff@engadget.com (Antony Terence) - 11 Oct 2026
Sunsetting i-mode, Docomo's 3G mobile internet, is estimated to affect half a million people and over 400 phone models in Japan, according to The Guardian. It will also impair car navigation systems and vending machines in the country. The announcement rang the death knell for the gara-kei, following au and SoftBank ending 3G service in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
Japan's aging population is another piece of the puzzle. In 2024, 29 percent of its population was aged 65 or above, according to the World Economic Forum, building an economy reliant on senior support. Tens of thousands of "lonely deaths" among the elderly may have reshaped how Japan uses cellular technology. In a bid to boost tech literacy, Japan Today reported that Tokyo handed out 3,000 smartphones to senior citizens in 2021.
While some Gen Z users jumped ship to feature phones in a bid to reclaim their attention spans, many will have to return to their smartphones if they want to remain connected to the internet. Docomo sees the inevitable migration as an opportunity and is promoting its in-store smartphone classrooms that teach people how to handle smartphones.
Lessons on web browsing and gesture controls are accompanied by the risk of gaining an appetite for social-media-powered doomscrolling and growing reliant on these pocket-sized computers. It's the end of an era in Japan for a generation that grew up clicking away on feature phones to stay in touch with the world.
Japan's aging population is another piece of the puzzle. In 2024, 29 percent of its population was aged 65 or above, according to the World Economic Forum, building an economy reliant on senior support. Tens of thousands of "lonely deaths" among the elderly may have reshaped how Japan uses cellular technology. In a bid to boost tech literacy, Japan Today reported that Tokyo handed out 3,000 smartphones to senior citizens in 2021.
While some Gen Z users jumped ship to feature phones in a bid to reclaim their attention spans, many will have to return to their smartphones if they want to remain connected to the internet. Docomo sees the inevitable migration as an opportunity and is promoting its in-store smartphone classrooms that teach people how to handle smartphones.
Lessons on web browsing and gesture controls are accompanied by the risk of gaining an appetite for social-media-powered doomscrolling and growing reliant on these pocket-sized computers. It's the end of an era in Japan for a generation that grew up clicking away on feature phones to stay in touch with the world.