science

Pasmo

Pasmo is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pasmo rather than just read about it. In short: Pasmo (Japanese: パスモ, romanized: Pasumo), stylized as PASMO, is a rechargeable contactless smart card electronic money system. It is primarily used for public transport in Tokyo, Japan, where it was introduced on 18 March 2007.

Key takeaways

Pasmo belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pasmo to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pasmo from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pasmo (Japanese: パスモ, romanized: Pasumo), stylized as PASMO, is a rechargeable contactless smart card electronic money system. It is primarily used for public transport in Tokyo, Japan, where it was introduced on 18 March 2007. Pasmo can also be used as a payment card for vending machines and stores. In 2013, Pasmo became usable in all major cities across Japan as part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service. Pasmo is a development of the Passnet system used by many non-JR railway lines in the Greater Tokyo Area. The system offers interoperability with the JR East Suica system, as well as integrating private bus companies into the former Passnet network. The technology is based on an RFID technology developed by Sony known as FeliCa. As of April 2009, there were over 11 million cards in circulation.

Companies and organizations accepting Pasmo

Railways Most railway operators introduced the system simultaneously when Pasmo started.

Buses and tramways Bus and tramway operators have been introducing Pasmo readers on their systems gradually.

Popularity On April 11, 2007, it was announced that sales of Pasmo fare cards would be limited to commuter rail pass purchases until August due to extremely high demand. It was originally predicted that approximately 2 million Pasmo cards would be sold in the first month, but actual sales numbers totaled approximately about 3 million. Due to depleting stock, regular Pasmo card sales were suspended and only commuter passes were sold. Sales resumed on September 10, 2007.

Mobile devices A version for mobile phones known as Mobile Pasmo (モバイルPASMO, Mobairu Pasumo), which uses Mobile FeliCa and Osaifu-Keitai functionality, was launched in March 2020.

Interoperation

Through collaboration with JR East, passengers became able to use Pasmo interchangeably with Suica to ride nearly any railway, metro, or bus in the Tokyo metropolitan area in 2007. Transit systems/lines outside the Pasmo system but usable with the Pasmo card included JR East lines in the Kanto, Niigata and Sendai area, the Tokyo Monorail, Saitama New Urban Transit (New Shuttle), Sendai Airport Transit, Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (Rinkai Line), and JR Bus Kanto (local buses in the Mito area). In 2013, interoperation was extended country-wide, and Pasmo became usable across Japan as part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service. On July 22, 2014, Nintendo added support for Suica and Pasmo in the Nintendo eShop through the NFC function of the Wii U GamePad and the New Nintendo 3DS. The service was discontinued on January 18, 2022.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pasmo

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pasmo claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pasmo before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pasmo ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pasmo

In research: Pasmo appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pasmo in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pasmo is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2007 establishments in Japan, 2007 introductions, Contactless smart cards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pasmo outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pasmo in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pasmo means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pasmo out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pasmo in simple terms?

Why does Pasmo matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pasmo?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pasmo.