Best VPN for Japan: Stay Private and Unblock Streaming Apps

While planning a trip, you’ll want to ensure a VPN app is installed on your devices. A VPN boosts your privacy by encrypting all the data passing between your device and the VPN server, which can make it look like you’re connecting from a different location. Whether trying to unblock streaming services from home, access your online banking without triggering CAPTCHAs or avoid throttling on your mobile device, a VPN enhances your privacy during your travels in Japan. 

VPNs aren’t just for keeping your traffic private. They’re also especially useful for streaming, particularly when you're overseas. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have licensing agreements for many of their shows and movies, meaning you'll have restricted availability to some content depending on your geographic location. This is why the Netflix library in Japan looks almost entirely different from the one you’re used to back home. By connecting to a VPN server from your home country, you can mask your public IP address, so you appear to be browsing from a different city, state or country when you’re actually in Japan. This way, you can access the home content you’re used to in Japan, while also unlocking access to streaming content like early releases of Japanese anime, including The Great Cleric and Solo Leveling, as well as exclusive J-dramas that may never be localized, while you're outside of Japan. 

There’s a lot to consider when selecting a VPN. Accordingly,  CNET’s team of VPN experts thoroughly tested nearly a dozen providers to identify the best VPNs for use in Japan. We’ve compared them based on key factors like connection speed, reliability, pricing, ease of use, privacy and compatibility with popular streaming platforms. 

Using a VPN in Japan is necessary to protect your privacy and data from prying eyes like the government, ISPs and more. Although Japan has no censorship laws regarding the internet, it still has heavy surveillance. A VPN will protect your personal information using Japanese internet connections and allow you to stay anonymous while in the country. Plus, using a VPN will allow you to stream US-only content.

After running several extensive tests, we have established a thorough list of the best VPNs for Japan, the winner being ExpressVPN. Its full suite of premium security features makes it the most protective app on the market. It has impressive speeds for streaming, internet browsing and or uploading vacation pictures in Japan. A close runner-up would be NordVPN due to its lightning-fast speeds and large Japanese server network.

IPVanish

IPVanish is a simple-to-use VPN with great streaming speeds and a decent security suite. (IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) It's the perfect VPN for beginners due to its simple user interface and provides unlimited connections. Unfortunately, it's not the best VPN for Japan due to its inconsistent speeds. Its speed testing results were all over the place, making it hard to stream or use the internet. Plus, its Quick Connect button sometimes didn't do what it advertised. Although we tested this only in the US, considering its differing speed results outside the country, I don't recommend trying it in Japan.

Read our IPVanish review.

Private Internet Access (PIA)

PIA is a wallet-friendly VPN that’s cheaper than most competitors at $12 per month, $40 for the first year (renewing at $50 annually) or $79 total for three years of service. Despite all it offers, we don't recommend using it in Japan due to its limited Japanese server network (only servers in Tokyo) and high internet speed loss. PIA also offers unlimited simultaneous connections, a benefit that pricier VPNs like Proton, ExpressVPN and NordVPN don’t have. It’s suitable for streaming service unblocking, provides a solid network of 35,000-plus servers in 91 countries and has highly customizable, albeit a little unpolished, apps. Folks who live in or frequently travel to the US may appreciate PIA’s servers in all 50 of the United States -- this can be helpful for streaming regional sports, like NFL games. 

We like that its apps are open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the source code for bugs or vulnerabilities, which is solid transparency. Only a few other providers, including Proton VPN and Mullvad, have open-source apps. While PIA largely sticks to covering the basics, it features some neat privacy amenities, including split tunneling on MacOS (which lets you use a VPN for certain apps and services but not others) -- a rarity among VPN providers. Notably, Surfshark also has Mac split tunneling.

But unfortunately, PIA was rough around the edges in our latest round of testing. We clocked its internet speed loss at an underwhelming 49% average, meaningfully higher than the 25% average we like to see. Additionally, we encountered many CAPTCHAs while trying to perform basic tasks like running a Google search. Although streaming was largely decent, we had to change servers more often than with other providers, like NordVPN, Proton VPN, ExpressVPN or Surfshark. You can get Surfshark, which delivers far faster speeds, a better streaming experience and more forward-thinking privacy features, for a little more money. Still, PIA can be good on a budget for folks who need comprehensive US server coverage. Otherwise, your money is probably better spent on Surfshark or Proton VPN, both of which offer faster server performance and robust privacy while charging slightly more cash than PIA.

Read our PIA review.

Our VPN testing methodology involves using real-time speed testing services across multiple servers across the globe throughout the day, not just during off-peak hours. This gives us an accurate picture of how each VPN performs under different conditions, helping you choose a service that stays fast and reliable whenever you need it. Note that speed test numbers are based on US testing but should still be representative of speeds you'll see elsewhere.

Privacy is among our top considerations when we test out each VPN, but we also look at results for speeds, streaming, value and server network size when determining which VPN is the best for Japan. Besides looking out for top-notch encryptions and security features, we always read and research each VPN's privacy policy. Some VPNs intentionally save your data to sell to third parties, so we look for privacy-friendly elements like a strict no-logs policy (even if they're difficult to prove). On top of that, when a VPN has been independently audited, it shows a proven track record that they hold their word.

Equally crucial to privacy features is the server network, with a decent number of US (so you won't have any issues accessing home content abroad) and Japanese servers (to connect to local news and search results). While traveling, other key benefits like speed and streaming capabilities are high on our list, so we can test how capable each VPN is at unblocking and streaming content when you're outside the US.

There are hundreds of VPNs on the market, so we used these key factors to test and determine which VPN will be the best overall in Japan.

Privacy

Any VPN worth using takes privacy seriously. On a technical level, this means using VPN protocols like OpenVPN with AES-256 encryption or WireGuard with ChaCha20. These encryption technologies are built to provide you privacy against snooping third parties by making it difficult to decrypt the data you send. You should also check that your VPN provider has a no-logs policy that's been audited by a trusted external company. While it's impossible to know whether a provider is completely trustworthy with your data, it's one of the best ways to check whether a VPN has policies in place to keep your internet traffic safe.

Servers

We searched through VPNs with a vast server selection (with dozens of locations) to get the best selection of connections. Additionally, we also wanted the largest Japanese and US server networks as well.

Streaming capabilities

Finding a VPN with strong geo-unblocking capabilities is essential to stream all your favorite content while traveling in Japan. We've tested the best VPN for streaming specifically for those results.

Speed

Fast speeds are important as every VPN will always slow down your internet connection. Finding a fast VPN (like NordVPN) will allow you to stream in UHD and use the internet without any slowdown. 

Price

We compared the price with the number of security features and benefits we got from each VPN, ensuring each one had the best value. VPNs with a discounted annual plan or a money-back guarantee are the best option, but sometimes, a cheap VPN will work well in Japan.