Over the past few years, U.S. television fans have “overcome the one-inch barrier of subtitles” and discovered the wide world of international TV, thanks in no small part to Netflix. According to the streaming giant, more and more U.S. subscribers are watching foreign series each year, with Korean, Spanish, and Japanese shows being the most popular. 2024 was a huge year for Japanophiles, between Shōgun‘s awards dominance and everyone you know planning a trip to Tokyo.
Excellent shows and movies have been coming out of Japan for decades, from thrilling anime series and action films to engrossing reality shows and everything Studio Ghibli. Netflix already has a solid catalog of Japanese series, and even more highly-anticipated shows are set to drop this year, including the long-awaited return to the show every Squid Game fan needs to watch. Below, read on for our selection of the best Japanese shows to watch on Netflix.
‘Aggretsuko’ (2018–2023)
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If you’ve never dipped your toe into the world of anime (at least beyond Pokémon), let this relatable comedy series lead the way. Retsuko the red panda is in her 20s and works a mundane job in the accounting department of a Tokyo corporation. When all the office politics and her horrible boss become too much, she lets out her frustration at night…through death metal karaoke sessions.
‘Alice in Borderland’ (2020– )
(Image credit: Kumiko Tsuchiya)
This live-action survival thriller based on Haro Aso’s manga series is an absolute must-watch for fans of the hit K-drama Squid Game fans. One day in Tokyo, slacker Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) is transported to a parallel universe where he has to survive lethal games, represented by the suits in a deck of playing cards. Along the way, he, Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), and the other players struggle to keep their will to live and survive. Now’s the perfect time to catch up with the series, with season 3 set for September 2025.
‘Asura’ (2025)
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This acclaimed period drama from Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda takes place among a tight-knit family in 1979 Tokyo. When they suspect that their father (Jun Kunimura) is having an affair, the four Takezawa sisters—ikebana teacher Tsunako (Rie Miyazawa), housewife Makiko (Machiko Ono), librarian Takiko (Yu Aoi) and waitress Sakiko (Suzu Hirose)—reunite at home, while trying to keep the secret from their mother, Fuji (Keiko Matsuzaka). Once the truth comes out, even more secrets surface that change their lives forever.
‘The Boyfriend’ (2024– )
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Last year, Netflix debuted Japan’s first-ever same-sex dating show. The global reality TV sensation brought together nine queer men together for a month-long stay in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, where they lived together in a space called “the Green Room” and ran a mint-green coffee truck. Over its episodes, the cast members found deep friendships and adorable romances, including one still going strong over a year after filming. Make sure to catch up on the show before the highly-anticipated second season.
‘Burn the House Down’ (2023)
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13 years ago, Anzu Murata’s (Mei Nagano) family fell apart when her mother was accused of burning down their childhood home. Their parents eventually divorced, with her father marrying one of her mother’s former friends soon after. Now an adult and convinced that her mother was wrongly accused, Anzu gets a job as the housekeeper for her unwitting stepmother, to discover the truth in this fiery revenge J-drama.
‘Chastity High’ (2024)
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When a prestigious high school for Japan’s elite goes co-ed, it institutes an unusual rule: Anyone caught in a romantic relationship will be expelled. As some students begin hunting for couples in and out of school grounds, Ichica (Ai Mikami) becomes an anonymous Love Keeper, funding her tuition by helping violators in exchange for cash. When she partners with Ryogo (Ryubi Miyase), a governor’s son who needs cash, “their partnership evolves into a romance that defies the school’s policies,” per the show’s description.
‘First Love’ (2022)
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Make sure to grab the tissues before diving into this epic romance across 20 years. Inspired by Hikaru Utada‘s songs “First Love” and “Hatsukoi,” the series centers on Yae Noguchi (Hikari Mitsushima) and Harumichi Namiki (Takeru Satoh), high school sweethearts who met in the ’90s and went down different paths. According to the description, “two decades later, Yae is a single mom to a teenage son, while Harumichi is engaged to marry someone else. However, they soon discover that their love story is not quite over.”
‘Fishbowl Wives’ (2022)
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This soap-like melodrama chronicles the lives of housewives living in the same building, who become tempted into extramarital affairs. The series follows Sakura (Ryoko Shinohara), a woman in an abusive relationship who meets a kind fish store owner (Takanori Iwata); Saya (Anna Ishii), whose workaholic husband is always absent; Noriko (Saori Seto), who is often belittled by her ungrateful husband; and Yuriha (Anzu Lawson), whose husband only listens to his mother.
‘Good Morning Call’ (2016–2017)
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In this youth rom-com drama, teenager Nao Yoshikawa (Haruka Fukuhara) gets the chance to stay behind in the city when her parents inherit her grandfather’s country farm. She moves into her own apartment, only to discover that the place has also been rented to Hisashi Uehara (Shunya Shiraishi), the most popular guy in school. Scammed with nowhere else to go, the pair become flatmates and keep their cohabitation a secret from their class.
‘House of Ninjas’ (2024– )
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This action-packed comedy brings the world of ninjas, or shinobi, out of history into modern-day Japan. The Tawaras are the last shinobi family directly descended from samurai Hattori Hanzō, but after the eldest son dies, the family left the world of fighting behind. When a new threat emerges six years later, the dysfunctional household is called back to action, as they’re still grieving the loss.
‘The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House’ (2023)
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Another gorgeous drama from Hirokazu Kore-eda, this live-action manga adaptation is half-friendship drama and half-food porn. The show is set in the Saku House, an all-female lodging where the makanai, or cook, cares for apprentice maiko training to become geishas (or geiko, in Kyoto dialect). While the main characters are 16-year-old teenage besties Kiyo (Nana Mori) and Sumire (Natsuki Deguchi), who arrive in Kyoto from their small town of Aomori, the series follows all of the women in the house as they pursue their happiness in life.
‘Midnight Diner’ (2016–2019)
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Another series where food is an essential part of the story, Midnight Dinner takes place in the titular late-night eatery, a fictional izakaya in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. The stoic chef, only known as “Master” (Kaoru Kobayashi) will cook his regulars anything they want, as long as they bring the ingredients. Each episode of the anthology series follows a new customer as they trade stories about their lives.
‘Old Enough!’ (1991– )
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The Japanese title of this long-running docuseries, Hajimete no Otsukai, translates to “My First Errand.” Each episode follows kids ages 2 to 6 as they set off alone (minus the camera crew) to navigate chores like picking up a few items from the grocery store or dropping off an item to their parents. It’s impossible not to root for the adorable little ones as they safely complete their tasks and build confidence by going out in the world.
‘Terrace House’ (2012–2020)
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In case you missed this smash-hit Japanese reality franchise during its heyday, each installment of Terrace House follows a group of Japanese 20-somethings who live together as they go about their day-to-day lives. As they hang out, share meals, and inevitably fall for each other, the series gives a chill yet engrossing look into the housemates’ lives, as a panel of actors and comedians provide commentary on each scene.
‘Tokyo Swindlers’ (2024)
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This stylish crime thriller from creator Hitoshi One is inspired by a real-life con, where a Japanese development company was scammed out of over 5 billion yen. Set in 2017, as land prices are rising in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, the show follows a “notorious group of real estate crooks,” led by Harrison Yamanaka (Etsushi Toyokawa), as they “defraud major developers out of large sums of money. Their next target is the biggest yet: a 10-billion-yen plot of land next to a Buddhist temple. Can they pull it off without getting caught?”