

(I think it’s mostly the first reason, though.) How Do Geo-Restriction Blockades Work? Second, it helps avoid issues with restrictive governments and religious groups in certain countries that may have guidelines that run counter to the content. First, it allows the producers to sell the content more than once, thus increasing their revenue. The contracts that streaming services agree to with movie and television studios restrict access to the contracted content to a specific geographical area. They do it because lawyers are heartless, and they’re the ones that draw up streaming contracts. Streaming services don’t do this because they’re heartless. While you may faithfully pay your monthly subscription fee to your favorite Japanese streaming service, if you go outside of their contracted streaming area, you’re likely barred from viewing the service’s content. Why Do Japanese Streaming Services Ban International Viewers? However, by using a little tool called a VPN app, you can enable access to all of your favorite streaming content, no matter your current location. You’ll find that most streaming services will either limit viewing of their content to residents of their home country, or, in the case of international streamers like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, the content you can view on the service will vary greatly from country to country.Įither way, you may or may not have access to your favorite shows and movies, depending on where you are currently located.

If the user selects a VPN server located in Japan, that server will assign a Japanese IP address to the user’s device, making it appear as if the device is connecting from inside Japan. There’s a way to view your favorite Japanese programs while you’re outside Japanese borders.Ī Virtual Private Network (VPN) service can make it appear as if you are still in Japan, opening up access to Japanese television streaming services.Ī VPN “spoofs” a user’s location, making it appear to the rest of the internet that the user (and their connected device) is in a different location. However, there is good news on the television-viewing front. This means Japanese citizens who are traveling internationally, or Japanese expats who are living abroad, do not have access to their favorite Japanese programs. Unfortunately, many Japanese television streaming services are geographically restricted to viewing only by those residing on the island of Japan. Japanese television networks offering streaming services include TVer, Daiwa, Impress Stream, NBS, RCC, NHK and numerous others.

Childrens’ programming, anime, drama, comedies – and don’t forget their wacky game shows – are all available via Japanese streaming television services. Japanese television offers a wealth of content.
