If you are looking to stay secure online and unblock content in Japan, then you need a VPN. VPNs encrypt your connection and change your IP address, so when you connect to a Japan VPN server you get a Japanese IP. This allows you to unblock content that is only available in Japan and it also stops your ISP, the government, and even hackers from snooping on what you are doing online.
In this article, we list the best VPNs for Japan and give you some top tips on how to unblock Japanese content from anywhere.
What are the best VPNs for Japan?
We have listed the best Japan VPN services below. If you need more information about the services listed below, keep scrolling for an in-depth analysis of each service.
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN for Japan. It has consistently fast servers and strong encryption, unblocks everything. Express comes with 3 Japan VPN servers and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - A secure Japan VPN service. Robust privacy features, Japanese IPs, great apps, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- PrivateVPN - A low-cost, high-performance VPN for Japan. It has a fire-wall based kill switch, unblocks loads, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- CyberGhost VPN - An easy-to-use VPN for Japan – stylish apps for all popular platforms. Great value for money, a 45-day money-back guarantee.
- IPVanish - A great all-round Japan VPN – great connection speeds, unlimited simultaneous connections, Japan IPs, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
All of the best VPNs for Japan have the following features to ensure you get the most out of your new service.
- lightning-fast servers
- Japanese IP addresses
- A worldwide server network
- Strong encryption
Best Japan VPNs - In-depth Analysis
We take a closer look at the best Japan VPNs below. If you need more information about any of these services, take a look at our detailed VPN reviews.
ExpressVPN is the best Japan VPN service. It has Japan VPN servers in Tokyo and Yokohama, one of the fastest VPNs on the market, and it unblocks everything! ExpressVPN Demo ExpressVPN is a well-known VPN provider that is respected throughout the VPN industry. It is a service based in the British Virgin Islands, which puts it well out of reach of the Japanese and US governments. The VPN has fast servers in 94 countries; including in Japan. And, thanks to its stealth servers in nearby Hong Kong, it is a great choice for torrenting or streaming. Plus, this VPN is consistently one of the fastest in the world, which makes it great for HD streaming, torrenting, or any other data-intensive online tasks. Where privacy in concerned, this VPN is ideal thanks to its no-logs policy and strong OpenVPN encryption. It has apps for all platforms that come with advanced features like a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, and obfuscation. This makes the VPN ideal for gaining watertight online privacy both at home and on public Wi-Fi. And ExpressVPN recently launched the Lightway protocol, which is even faster - but still secure. In tests, we found ExpressVPN to be extremely reliable, and super easy to use on all of your devices. It lets you use the VPN on 5 simultaneous devices, which is more than enough for most people's needs. Customer care is always available, thanks to its 24/7 live chat feature. And you can test the VPN risk-free, thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee. It's a superb all rounder that will unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, and anything else you desire. Private Internet Access is the most secure VPN for Japan. It has Japan VPN servers, has proven in court it doesn't keep logs, and has excellent encryption on all their apps. [post-object type="youtuber" id="TbsmoCRe5r0" /]] Private Internet Access (PIA) is a zero logs VPN that has proven those claims in court on a number of occasions. The VPN is widely regarded as secure and is often praised for this reason by Reddit users. PIA VPN implements strong OpenVPN encryption across its apps and is available for all popular platforms. The nice thing about PIA is that it comes fully featured with a broad range of advanced settings. Encryption strength can be customized, and a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and obfuscated servers are all available. PIA VPN has secure servers located throughout the world, which makes it excellent for unblocking content. It can also unlock popular services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer. And thanks to its server in Japan, you can use it to gain a Japanese IP address from anywhere in the world. It's an excellent VPN that is perfect for gaining digital privacy online. Try it for yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee. PrivateVPN is a great VPN for Japan. It has a VPN server in Tokyo and great security features such as DNS leak protection and kill switches to keep your data private. PrivateVPN Demo PrivateVPN is a zero logs provider based in Sweden. Its global network of servers features servers in Japan and throughout East Asia. It features both a firewall-based system kill switch and a per-app kill switch, which provides an excellent fall-back for users should the VPN fail. Full IPv4 and IPv6 DNS leak protection is also built-in to its client. We have been particularly impressed by PrivateVPN’s high level of customer service, which even features remote installation for technophobes! Up to 6 simultaneous devices are permitted, and port forwarding plus HTTPS and SOCKS5 proxies are a nice bonus too. It's a great VPN for anonymous/P2P torrenting. With a 30-day no-quibble money-back guarantee, why not give PrivateVPN a try? CyberGhost is an easy to use Japan VPN service. It has a Japan VPN server based in Tokyo, excellent apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac, and it has low cost plans. CyberGhost Demo CyberGhost is a VPN provider from Romania that provides everything you need from a VPN for Japan. Not only does this VPN support the Japanese language in its apps and website, but it also has servers in Japan and around the Pacific rim to ensure you can always gain privacy - even when using local services and websites. In fact, this VPN has servers in 91 countries to ensure you can unblock any international content that you desire. CyberGhost VPN can unblock Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, hulu, and other sought after services. And we love that this VPN lets users install its apps on up to 7 devices simultaneously, making it great for families or people who own a lot of devices. Where speeds are concerned this VPN is excellent, and it will let you torrent or stream in HD without any lagging. Plus, this is a no-logs VPN - with a kill-switch and DNS leak protection - which makes it perfect for gaining privacy both at home and on public Wi-Fi. Admittedly, this VPN doesn't have any advanced obfuscation, however, users can select OpenVPN TCP over port 443 - which will disguise OpenVPN traffic as regular HTTPS. We always find this VPN extremely easy to use on all platforms, which makes it great for VPN beginners. Offering great value for money, this VPN is a rock-solid service that will permit you to use the internet without government or ISP snooping and is well worth testing using its generous 45-day money-back guarantee. IPVanish is a great all -round VPN for Japan. It has 5 Japan VPN servers in Tokyo, but its zero-logs policy makes it an ideal VPN for Japan, and fast servers are great for streaming. IPVanish Demo IPVanish is another fantastic VPN for Japan. It is superb because it has lightning fast servers in Japan and nearby in Hong Kong. The VPN also runs on outstanding, easy-to-use software that is fully featured. Encryption is military grade. IPVanish provides our recommended protocol, OpenVPN (as do all the VPNs in this list). In addition, IPVanish offers unlimited simultaneous connections so you can protect every device in your home. IPVanish is based in the US, which isn’t ideal. However, it keeps zero logs, which definitely makes up for it. Unfortunately, customer support is only available in US working hours. Try it for yourself with their 30-day money-back guarantee. 1. ExpressVPN
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Why are these the best Japan VPN services?
There are many factors to consider when choosing the right VPNs for a certain purpose. When we curated this list of the best VPNs for Japan, we examined very specific features and settings important for gaining privacy, security, and usability with your VPN.
Privacy policies and encryption
The VPNs in this guide all have watertight privacy policies (logging policies) and a proven track record of providing privacy for their users. A strong logging policy, which promises that the VPN keeps no logs, means that there is no data lying around the provider's server that could later be used to see what you did online.
Encryption is an important aspect of any VPN service. Many VPNs not only have poor privacy policies but also have outdated or poorly implemented VPN encryption. The VPNs in this guide are all world-class services that have everything you need to keep your data private and secure.
Server locations
The best VPN providers have a large server network located right around the globe. This allows you to spoof your location to many different places, so that you can pretend to be in those countries. This allows you to bypass regional restrictions so that you can always access international services no matter where you are.
For people living in Japan, a local server is also important so that they can use the internet privately - even when they want to use Japanese websites and services.
This makes all of our recommendations ideal if you want to use a VPN for streaming, gaming, or video conferencing.
Speeds
Our recommendations all use the very best infrastructure to provide fast VPN servers. However, you can still optimize your VPN connection to get the fastest speeds available to you. If speed is your main concern, then always connect to a VPN server that is closer to you. If, for example, you want to pretend to be in the US, then select a VPN server on the west coast. This will ensure that you get the best speeds available to you.
Why do I need a VPN for Japan
A Virtual Private Network is an online subscription service that allows you to pretend to be in a different country. As soon as you connect to a VPN, it conceals your real IP address. You can select from a list of server locations to pretend to be in any of them.
Japan is an extremely free nation with very little censorship. Despite this, the government takes a harsh stance on copyright piracy. People caught torrenting or streaming content illegally can face imprisonment, so anybody in Japan thinking about watching or torrenting pirated content should think very carefully about the risks involved.
Are VPNs legal in Japan
Yes, VPN services are legal in Japan. There are no reports that claim VPN services are banned and the government doesn't impose strict internet censorship. Therefore, you can safely use them in public and VPN services websites aren't blocked in the country.
How to get a Japanese IP address
The easiest way to get a Japanese IP is to connect to a VPN server based in Japan. Simply follow the steps below to do this:
- Sign up to a VPN service with servers based in Japan. All of the services listed in this article have Japanese VPN servers.
- Download the VPNs software from their website. The services in our list have apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
- Open the VPN software, navigate to the server list, and click on the Japanese server.
- Test your VPN is working. We recommend doing this to ensure your VPN isn't leaking your real IP address. Check out our VPN leak test tool to do this.
- Go to the website you want to unblock and you will now appear to be in Japan. It's as simple as these steps.
Can I get a free VPN for Japan?
Although there are many free VPNs available on the market, the vast majority of those are cowboy services that will put your data at risk. Studies have revealed that the vast majority of free services have terrible privacy policies that let them collect their users' data to sell it to third parties. They also have critical leaks, weak encryption, and even contain spyware and adware. This kind of VPN service is not going to provide the level of protection you need, and for this reason you must avoid them at all costs.
The good news is that there are some free VPNs that can be trusted. The VPNs in the link above do not skimp on privacy or security, which means they are all safe to use.
However, please bear in mind that those free plans have the following restrictions:
- Monthly download limits
- Slower speeds
- Limited server selection
If you are going to want to use the internet privately each day, to torrent content regularly, bypass censorship, or unblock Netflix US - then you will be better off with a premium service.
The good news is that you can compare any of the free VPNs above to our premium VPNs for Japan by using their money-back guarantees. And, if cost is a deciding factor, then you can always check out our recommended cheap VPNs.
Japan VPN - Conclusion
The services we've recommended are fast, have plenty of server locations around the globe, and can be used for data-intensive tasks such as streaming in HD. In addition, all these VPNs have strong privacy policies and well-implemented OpenVPN encryption.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us below. For now, here's a reminder of our top choices for VPNs in Japan: