- published: 29 Mar 2015
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Suica (スイカ, Suika?) is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata. The card can also be used interchangeably with JR West's ICOCA card in the Kansai region and Sanyo region in Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures, and also with JR Central's TOICA starting from spring of 2008,JR Kyushu's SUGOCA, Nishitetsu's Nimoca, and Fukuoka City Subway's Hayakaken area in Fukuoka City and its suburb areas, starting from spring of 2010. The card is also increasingly being accepted as a form of electronic money for purchases at stores and kiosks, especially within train stations. As of October 2009, 30.01 million Suica cards are in circulation.
Since Suica is completely interchangeable with the Pasmo card (see for the complete listing of companies and lines that accept Suica) in the greater Tokyo area, it is supported on virtually any train, tramway, and bus system (excluding various limited and shinkansen trains, as well as a few local buses as the system is still in the process of being extended to all routes).
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