Can I pause utilities and phone contracts in Japan while abroad for a month?

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student in Japan and I’ll be going back to my home country for about a month. I’m very tight on money right now, so I’m trying to minimize my costs as much as possible while I’m away.

I was wondering if there’s any way to temporarily pause or suspend payments for things like gas, electricity, water, and my phone plan. Since I won’t be using any of these while I’m gone, I’d really like to avoid paying for a full month if possible. I’m not sure whether Japan has a system for temporarily stopping utilities, or if the only option is canceling and signing up again later.

If anyone has experience with this, I’d really appreciate knowing what can usually be paused, what can’t, and whether suspension or cancellation is generally cheaper for a short period. Any advice from students or people who’ve been in a similar situation would really help.

Thanks in advance.