For the past few weeks it has been impossible to top up your Suica or Pasmo travel card using a Visa card issued outside Japan.
It seems payments are still possible with Mastercard and AMEX.
Speculation has been rife online regarding the issue with no official announcement from JR East about the matter.
Who knows how long the block will last or if it will also extend to Mastercard and AMEX payments.
Local AtaDistance from Twitter has more on the subject on his website with frequent updates on the issue. You can find it here.
In a further blow to international visitors, the new Google Pixel Watch will not support Suica on units not sold in Japan. This means tourists will not be able to add Suica to their watch while visiting, at any rate it’s likely they’d be unable to charge their Suica with a foreign Visa card anyway.