Huh, didnt realise they had one to use. Every time we have tried to pay with card in japan it has been either impossible or a huge song and dance, even involving the old click clack slide impression carbon paper tools.
When's the last time you were in Japan? I can't remember the last time I carried cash in JP unless I knew, ahead of time, that I was going to a ramen joint that used a vending machine. Between Suica on your phone and a credit card, you rarely ever need cash in big cities.
Smaller towns are a bit of a different story though.
I was in Tokyo a few months ago and I could pay with my foreign credit card in most stores (supermarkets, department stores, chain stores, ...) Even NFC and Google Pay worked, which still don't in Korea for instance.
The Tokyo Metro booth at Haneda doesn't accept credit cards though, I had to withdraw cash in order to get a Pasmo (the JR booth was already closed for the evening).
At restaurants, cafés and small stores it was usually either cash only, or cash plus a combination among the dozen mobile payments solutions that exist in Japan. Very confusing.
Nowadays it should be more seameless, but yes a while ago foreign credit cards were a PITA to use in most places. And there's still many services that aren't set to trigger 3Dsecure at payment, making EU cards virtually unusable.
Is the European 3DSecure verification only for non-card present transactions or for all? Otherwise, businesses using NFC readers shouldn't pose a problem for european tourists.
Smaller towns are a bit of a different story though.