Last April, telecoms giant NTT announced the largest annual corporate loss in Japanese history -- 2 trillion yen. More than a third of it came from its cell phone subsidiary, NTT Docomo.

Measures were deemed necessary to stem the red tide. So, on April 1, 2002, Docomo quietly announced it would seal off one source of loss -- debt from foreign deadbeats.

All new foreign subscribers without Permanent Residency (eijuuken) must now pay a 30,000 yen refundable deposit to use Docomo services.