15 Best Movie & TV Streaming Services to enjoy Japanese TV shows!
Many people like watching Japanese TV shows and movies, and Japanese animations and dramas have become hot. In this article, we will introduce some movie & TV streaming services which provide video-on-demand (VOD) content in Japanese.
It’s important to listen Japanese every day to improve your listening skills. It’s a good idea to practice your Japanese pronunciation and listening skills through watching your favorite programs. It can also sustain your motivation high in learning Japanese. Why don't you try it?
TV stations
Japanese TV stations also have the online delivery of VOD content, and many of the programs are free of charge.
If there are some favorite programs you’re interested, let's check the website of the TV stations that are broadcasting that programs.
Foreign companies
The following are foreign companies that provide VOD services with a wide range of Japanese content.
Hulu
The all-you-can-watch service costs 933 yen/month. Many TV shows produced by Nippon Television are available because Hulu's Japanese business was acquired by Nippon Television.
Netflix has three different packages with different HD content and the number of devices you can watch it on. All plans offer unlimited viewing; Basic, for 650 yen/month, Standard for 950 yen/month and Premium for 1,450 yen/month. Fuji Television offers a lot of programs for Netflix.
A single payment of 3,900 yen, an annual fee of Amazon Prime membership, gives you access to the video library for an entire year. Many Japanese dramas and animations are available.
Others
Japanese TV stations provide their programs only, but the following companies provide a cross-sectional VOD content regardless of TV stations.Highly recommended because a wide genre and number of TV shows are available.
dTV
The number of members and titles are No.1 in Japan. Besides movies and TV shows, live videos, karaoke videos and comics are unlimited access. It’s operated by a telecommunications company, DoCoMo, but non-DoCoMo users are also available. The monthly cost is 500 yen.
Animation version of dTV. The monthly cost is 400 yen, and they claim to have over 2,000 titles of Japanese animations for free access.
Video Market
One of the largest VOD service in Japan.
Premium, for 500 yen/month, gives you 540 points per month to access to video and audio content. If points are insufficient, purchase each time. (over 160,000 titles)
Premium and all-you-can-watch, for 980 yen/month, offers unlimited viewing over 20,000 titles. Also, 540 points per month are added to access to over 160,000 titles that do not cover in the all-you-can-watch service.
Unext
U-Next is another one that has a decent selection, as they claim to have a huge amount of titles, including Japanese movies, dramas and animations. Over 70 magazines are unlimited reading. The monthly cost of all-you-can-watch service is 1,990 yen, over 50,000 movies and 70 magazines are unlimited access. Also, there is a point system that gives you about 1000-yen worth of points per month, which can be used toward future bills to buy movies, books and comics.
※ All amounts above are tax-excluded.
※ Normally each VOD company restricts the content seen in each country. You can’t access to the content outside Japan, but in some cases, using the VPN service may make it possible.
※ VPN has different rules depending on each country, please check by yourself.
