Disney Plus to Launch in Japan in June
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Disney Plus is to launch in Japan next month. The streaming service will be operated as an exclusive partnership with phone and cable group NTT DoCoMo.
Starting June 11, consumers can subscribe to Disney Plus through NTT DoCoMo’s retail and digital network. The monthly subscription is priced at $6.49 (JPY700) per month.
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Consumers can also subscribe to the service on disneyplus.jp with DoCoMo’s d Account. Current subscribers of Disney Deluxe, a Disney entertainment service jointly launched by Disney Japan and NTT DoCoMo in March last year, will see their service upgraded to Disney Plus at no additional cost.
At launch in Japan, Disney Plus will include more than 500 feature films and 100 series including Disney Plus originals and other titles from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
Disney Plus has quickly racked up 54.5 million subscribers worldwide, according to Disney’s latest filing. Nevertheless, the Japan launch is a major step up for the service. The country is the world’s third largest single entertainment market, behind North America and China, and Disney Plus is unlikely to be allowed to operate in China in the near future.
To date, Disney Plus has already been launched in the U.S., much of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It launched in India in alliance with the Hotstar streaming business that Disney acquired with Twentieth Century Fox.
“We have a deep and long-standing relationship with [Japanese] consumers who have helped build our substantial legacy with their love and loyalty. The Walt Disney Company’s beloved stories of hope, courage and optimism have always resonated strongly with our fans in Japan, and Disney Plus will only strengthen and magnify this engagement and resonance,” said Luke Kang, managing director of The Walt Disney Company, North Asia.
Disney is also in business in Japan through the Tokyo Disneyland theme park. It is currently closed due to coronavirus restrictions, though these are now in the process of being lifted.
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