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Credit Card Payoff Calculator: Japan

See how long a credit card takes to pay off at your APR, the interest it costs, what minimums really cost, and the payment to be debt-free by a date.

Reviewed by CentExactRates effective 1 sourceCalculated in your browser. Shared links include inputs.

Japan: ribo-barai, and a ceiling that depends on the balance

Japanese cards mostly do not have a minimum payment in the sense the rest of this guide uses. What they have is ribo-barai, revolving payment, where the cardholder sets a fixed monthly amount and the balance revolves behind it. Because the amount does not fall with the balance, ribo-barai behaves like the calculator's fixed-payment mode rather than its minimum mode; the 5% used here is simply the percentage that produces an equivalent opening payment. If you know your ribo-barai amount, enter it under "Fixed amount" instead.

Ribo-barai is heavily marketed, often as a card benefit with bonus points attached, and it is where Japanese card debt is made. A purchase paid in full costs nothing; the same purchase moved to ribo-barai starts accruing interest that a fixed monthly amount can carry for years.

The Interest Rate Restriction Act caps the rate, and unusually the ceiling depends on the size of the balance: 20% on the smallest amounts, falling to 15% on the largest. Card rates therefore cluster just under the applicable ceiling rather than spreading out. Amounts here are in whole yen, which has no minor unit, so the schedule above settles to the yen rather than to a hundredth of one.

For how the calculation works, the formula behind it and what it leaves out, see the full guide. For help interpreting a result or comparing it with a quote or statement, read the questions and answers.

Data sources

Japanese consumer finance conventionsJapan Pension ServiceWithin its effective period

Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.

This calculator in other countries

Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.

CentExactCalculator publisher

CentExact publishes the calculation method, worked examples and available data sources. Automated checks cover reference calculations; they do not certify a result for your circumstances or imply approval by a lender or tax authority.

How we build and test our calculators

This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.