I want to keep this real simple.

My daughter will be living with a Japanese family in Tokyo this summer. I would like a recommendation for a bottom of the line mobile phone, pre-paid.

Her host family can do the purchase, so residency card, whatever, is not an issue.

Just the absolute minimal phone and service.

She will have voip software for internet calls, and a phone card for calling to the U.S. from the phone if need be.

Thanks.

Back in the days before visitors were barred from buying cell phones, I got a good deal at an AU store in Akihabara. The total cost for a phone and an initial allotment of minutes that had to be replenished every six weeks came to about US$60.

Since I'm no longer allowed to buy a cell phone in Japan unless I settle down there, I haven't kept track of current offers, but prepaid cell phones (purii-kei) are very common and your daughter's host family should be able to help her find the best deal.

to their program as a friends and family kind of thing, and she pays them each month for her share?

I would imagine VOiP is a lifesaver (budgetsaver?) in overseas situations like this.

You could ask her hosts to take her to a Seven-Eleven and purchase the cheapest prepaid Vodafone. Probably a good idea to make sure in advance that they understand that they are going to have to bring some ID and sign the documents in their name, since she cannot do so without a proof of residence in Japan:
https://www.vodafone.jp/scripts/japa...rea=3&cc_9115=

Costs -
Handset should be somewhere around 4000yen (the price online is 3990yen)
Then you need to buy a prepaid card, which costs 3000yen.
Total = roughly 7000yen.

She won't get many calls out of a 3000yen card - but if she uses a calling card for international calls and pay phones for most domestic calls, then she can make it last - maybe just use the mobile phone for incoming calls (which cost her nothing) and a few short domestic calls.

If she is careful not to use up all of her credit, then the phone card will be valid for outgoing calls for 60 days.
After 60 days, the credit for outgoing calls is cancelled, but she can still receive incoming calls for an additional 120 days.

If you are already communicating well with homestay family, you might find that they are willing to go get a phone now - so you can know the number before she leaves for Japan. (But make sure they don't activate the phone until she gets there - because the clock starts ticking on those 60 days).

Cheapest would be Yahoo BB. It is somewhere around 7 yen for 3 min. I had a Pre-Kei(prepaid cell) from a company called Tuka. The cards were 1000, 3000, and 6000 yen for an alloted amount of minutes. I never made any calls, I used the cards up for text messages. It is free to recieve calls on these, so my folks would call me. If I wanted to call out I would buy a Brastel phone card and use a pay phone at a local convenience store.

Great help and advice. Thanks to all.

And yes, VOIP is a real budget saver. My other daughter lives in Turkey and has been traveling in Georgia and Armenia. All three are free to a landline, or nearly so, with one of the voip/buster/stunt/discount family.