Best VPN for Japan: Simulate a Japanese IP

Wherever you go in the world, you'll find different content catalogs for streaming services. For example, Netflix & Co.'s Japanese catalogs offer a variety of films, series, and anime that you won't find elsewhere. And then there are the different Hollywood Blockbusters they are licensed to broadcast like Top Gun: Maverick.

With a VPN, you'll be able to borrow a Japanese IP address, making it possible to access content from the Land of the Rising Sun. However, this isn't possible with every VPN provider, not least since services seem to have considerably more difficulty in Japan than they do in the UK or USA.

In this article, we'll let you know which VPNs from our sample were best at digitally tunneling to Japan.

VPNs which have servers in Japan offer several advantages:

There are many reasons to use a VPN with Japanese servers. In our EXPERTE.com VPN comparison, we thoroughly tested 27 providers. Only one question remains: Which is the best for Japan?

Performance, user-friendliness, and security were the three factors that mattered most in our head-to-head VPN comparisons. If looking at Japan, it's also important that the provider operates servers in the country (nearly every service from our sample did), and that it's possible to access streaming services like Netflix & Co.

For that reason, we evaluated VPNs on how well they performed in streaming content from Japanese Netflix, and below, will introduce you to our Top 3. These services worked during testing, however, VPN performances can vary from day to day. So, even if you just were able to stream Japanese Netflix content yesterday, you might be out of luck today. Just update the server list and try again in a few hours or the next day.

Surfshark offered the most value for money in our sample and was also our top pick for Japan. It handles wonderfully and serves up plenty of features available at a very reasonable price. The provider's Japanese servers were reliable: We had no issue streaming Japanese Netflix content.

In our VPN speed test, Surfshark is regularly among the Top 5. It also offers a fantastic range of features like different server categories (Favorites, Static IP, and MultiHop), an adblocker, as well as split tunneling. The last of these makes it possible to exempt specific programs or apps from using your VPN tunnel.

NordVPN took first place in our overall EXPERTE.com VPN assessment, owing to its fantastic overall package which excels in performance, security, and features.

It isn't surprising that NordVPN has a server presence in Japan, making it possible to access content on Japanese Netflix. For YouTube and other websites, our NordVPN server helped us bypass the region restrictions and view content that would be otherwise blocked.

Although NordVPN beat out Surfshark in our speed test, our Japanese Netflix experience was better with the latter than the former. During testing, we had to restart NordVPN several times since it abruptly stopped working on Netflix.

In our overall EXPERTE.com assessment, Private Internet Access only finished in the middle of the pack. This can be traced to its average (albeit solid) upload and download speeds and suspicious parent company (which also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost).

For Japan, PIA cut a good figure: On Netflix, we were able to find and stream Japanese movies and series without interruptions or connectivity issues.

While in Asia, we should also point out that PIA is also a great companion if traveling to China: PIA is capable of overcoming the Great Firewall so long as the WireGuard is activated.

As if that wasn't enough, PIA's 12 and 24-month subscription packages are priced affordably, making it a good choice for your next virtual trip to Japan.

When it comes to bypassing content restrictions, Japan seems to be a difficult nut for VPNs to crack. Of the 27 providers from our sample, apart from the Top 3 listed above, few allowed us to reliably stream Japanese Netflix content. As such, they are more the exception than the rule.

All the same, country or region access can change quickly. For that reason, we don't recommend writing off the other services from our sample, since all have servers in Japan. Below, we've included a complete ranking from our overall assessment:

All of the VPNs from our Top 3 are premium. ProtonVPN is the only free solution that offers access to a Japanese server. The Swiss provider was our favorite among the freemium options since it doesn't impose any data limits. As such, you can surf with a VPN to your heart's content at no charge. Alongside Japan, you'll also be able to access servers in the US and the Netherlands.

However, ProtonVPN's free version (and indeed, all free VPNs from our sample) do not support video streaming of content from abroad. With ProtonVPN, this didn't make much of a difference, as even in its premium version, Netflix sussed out our attempts to stream videos from their Japanese database.

In case you just need a Japanese IP address, but don't want to pay for it, ProtonVPN is the best option.

Yes: Both using a VPN in Japan, as well as outside of the country to connect to servers based there are completely legal. However, when you access otherwise blocked content with a VPN, you go against the streaming service's terms and conditions. For example, Netflix expressly prohibits its subscribers from using VPNs to circumvent country or region restrictions.

In the worst case, your account could be blocked or terminated, however, we're not aware of this ever happening as the result of VPN usage. From a legal perspective, you have nothing to worry about, while other consequences are unlikely.

VPNs make it possible to connect to servers in Japan, circumventing censorship and country restrictions on streaming platforms like Netflix. This allows you to watch films and series only available to the Japanese market. However, not every VPN from our sample can get around Netflix's control measures, which appear rather robust for Japan.

Surfshark, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access were up to the challenge and allowed us to stream content from Japanese Netflix. With solid-strong performance, they also have user-friendly apps. In case you only need a Japanese IP address for surfing or accessing static content and don't want to pay for it, you can take advantage of ProtonVPN's free version. Just remember that video streaming is not possible with this option.

You can find comprehensive reviews of all 27 VPNs from our sample in our EXPERTE.com comparison.