Channel to offer content with English subtitles within a year

Toei is launching a 24-hour pay-to-view streaming "Toei Japan Channel" in the United States with live-action special-effects (tokusatsu) television shows this month. The channel's target audience is primarily the 400,000 Japanese residents living in the United States, but it plans to add English subtitles to its programming within a year.

Toei decided to launch the channel as a response to interest in the "Cool Japan" initiative. "Cool Japan" is a program supported by the Japanese government and various companies to promote modern Japanese culture such as anime and manga abroad.

Yasuhiko Nakashima of Toei's International Sales Division said, "Because of the current interest in ‘Cool Japan’ we saw an opportunity to show off our tokusatsu hero shows. In the future we'd even like to provide these series almost as they air in Japan."

Toei currently produces the Hikōnin Sentai Akibaranger (Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger), the Kamen Rider franchise, and the Super Sentai franchise which was adapted for American television as the Power Ranger series.

Source: Asahi Shimbun Digital via Henshin Justice Unlimited