A nationwide disruption of credit card transactions was reported on Saturday, with East Japan Railway's ticketing machines and major convenience stores temporarily experiencing an inability to accept credit card payments.
Major credit card firm JCB said a subsidiary that handles card settlement data experienced system trouble, apparently causing the disruption. The issue was resolved by 9 p.m., it said.
JR East said customers were not able to make credit card payments at ticketing machines and sales counters at stations from around 6 p.m., but the problem was fully resolved at around 8:50 p.m.
JR East-issued prepaid e-money Suica cards were also affected, with users unable to charge money to the cards installed on smartphones.
Seven-Eleven Japan, Lawson and FamilyMart reported similar disruptions at their stores but confirmed the recovery later in the day.
A 42-year-old tourist from Taiwan said that he was disappointed that he could not use his credit card at a convenience store in Tokyo's Minato Ward, especially because few currency exchange counters are open on a Saturday night.