Skip to main content

Hulu launches subscription service in Japan

Hulu Japan
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Streaming video operator Hulu might be in the midst of offering itself up to the highest bidder—or, at least, trying to find a high-dollar bidder—but that doesn’t seem to be slowing down the operation’s international expansion plans. Earlier this month Hulu announced it would be bringing its service to Japan, and today it has done so, announcing Japanese customers can now subscribe to Hulu at www.hulu.jp for ¥1,480 per month (about $20). In return, customers get ad-free access to selected feature films (like Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon, and Troy) along with past seasons of U.S. television shows like Lost, 24, Desperate Housewives, and many more.

The service carries no minimum subscription commitments, and customers can signs up for a free month of service to try it out.

“Since launching Hulu in 2008 in the U.S., we have been working hard to bring our service to consumers outside our home market and become a global brand,” said Hulu’s senior VP of international Johannes Larcher, in a statement. “Today, we are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration to serve customers all over the world.”

For now, most of the content on Hulu’s Japanese subscription service is…not Japanese, although the company says it will be “rapidly and continually” adding new content to the service, including material from The Walt Disney Company (Japan) as well as Japanese-produced content and other video content from throughout Asia.

Like the U.S. version of Hulu’s subscription service, accounts can be accessed from multiple devices: customer’s can tap in from a Hulu-enabled TV at home, switch to a tablet or other mobile device on the go, and then pick up Hulu again from a gaming console at a friend’s house. Hulu is bolstering its service with a still-to-be-announced deal with Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, but Hulu promises subscribers will be able to use the service on any mobile operator or ISP on any supported device.

A strong international presence might bolster Hulu’s positions in negotiations over a sale, but the Japanese launch might be too little too late: initial bids for Hulu were due from interested parties last week.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
How to add new a profile to Amazon Fire TV
The Continue Watching row on the Amazon Fire TV home screen.

Amazon Fire TV devices, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, are among the best streaming devices you can buy. They offer a wide range of entertainment options such as the ability to watch your favorite TV shows and movies, play video games, and use apps. To cater to everyone's preferences in your household, the Fire TV comes with a profiles feature.

This feature enables you to personalize your Fire TV experience for each user on the device. With profiles, each user has the ability to add content to their watchlist, keep track of their watch progress and history, view unique recommendations, and more.

Read more
The 10 most popular streaming services, ranked by subscriber count
The Netflix home screen.

Let's start this with a caveat or two: If you're going to compare streaming services merely by the number of subscribers they have, it's not exactly a fair fight. Not all services are available in the same places. Nor does the number of subscribers really address the "worth" of a streaming service. Or whether it's easy to use, or if the apps are any good. Or, for that matter, if a given streaming service has what you want to watch, which really is the only measure necessary.

Still, it's interesting to keep up with how things are doing from a global perspective, especially when you have relatively young upstarts like Apple TV+ gaining so many accolades in an industry dominated by Netflix.

Read more
The most common Hulu problems and how to fix them
The Hulu icon in the Disney+ app.

Hulu is an incredible streaming platform available for smartphones, tablets, computers, and pretty much every major streaming device one can think of. Home to all kinds of movies and TV shows, there’s definitely no shortage of Hulu content to indulge in, but there are some other issues that may crop up.

Read more