25 Years of You and The Vacation Principle
July is shaping up to be a massive month for fans of Japanese dramas. Netflix has scooped up the global streaming rights to two highly anticipated J-Dramas—the dark suspense thriller 25 Years of You and the breezy romance series The Vacation Principle. Both series will stream weekly to the majority of Netflix subscribers, including those in the United States, shortly after their domestic broadcasts in Japan.
If you’re a fan of live-action J-Dramas, Netflix’s recent licensing strategy has been a massive win. While the platform is famous for popularizing the “binge” model, it has been aggressively expanding its weekly distribution rights for buzzy Japanese network shows. These two July releases are just the latest in a robust lineup of weekly 2026 drops, following major international success with Fuji TV’s forensic drama Loved One in April and the hit thriller Hell for You back in January.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two new J-Dramas coming to Netflix this month.
25 Years of You (Kokuhaku: 25 Nen Me no Himitsu)
Netflix Release Date: Friday, July 17th, 2026 (Weekly)
Episodes: 10
Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Romance
For this romantic thriller, the story centers on Yukimura Sota, a man who has spent 25 years secretly fixated on a single woman he has known since childhood. But is his decades-long dedication “pure love,” or is it madness born from an unrequited obsession? Behind Sota’s need to follow her from the shadows lies a brutal, mysterious incident from 25 years ago, alongside the heavy secrets each of them has carried since. The moment Sota finally breaks his long silence and steps out of the shadows, their ordinary lives begin to shift into a thrilling cat-and-mouse game.
The series is headlined by actor and musician Hokuto Matsumura (Suzume), who takes on the chilling main role of Yukimura Sota. Starring opposite him as the object of his lifelong fixation, Nose Mariko, is Sae Okazaki (Doctor White). The supporting cast features a stellar lineup of familiar faces, including Tetsuji Tamayama, Akihisa Shiono, and Nozomi Sasaki.
25 Years of You will debut its first episode domestically in Japan on NTV on Saturday, July 11th, 2026. Netflix has secured the global streaming rights and will begin dropping episodes for international audiences just days later, starting Friday, July 17th.
The Vacation Principle (Bakansu no Hosoku)
Netflix Release Date: Friday, July 31st, 2026 (Weekly)
Episodes: 18 (15-minute runtime per episode)
Genres: Romance, Drama
The story follows Hoshino Midori, a protagonist who is utterly exhausted by her busy, demanding daily life. Seeking an escape, she embarks on an extraordinary vacation at a beautiful seaside villa. There, she meets the villa’s mysterious caretaker, Nishigami. As she reclaims the precious time in her life, a charming romance begins to blossom.
The series features an incredibly exciting cross-cultural lead pairing. Starring as Hoshino Midori is Japanese actress Kanna Hashimoto. Playing opposite her as the mysterious Nishigami is South Korean actor Chae Jong-hyeop. Fans are already buzzing for this pairing, as Chae Jong-hyeop recently won over international audiences in another highly successful K-Drama/J-Drama crossover project, Eye Love You.
The Vacation Principle features a unique format for a network drama. Rather than standard hour-long episodes, it is a short-form web series consisting of 18 episodes that clock in at 15 minutes each. It begins airing in Japan on AbemaTV on Monday, July 27th (airing new mini-episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), with Netflix bringing the series to global audiences starting Friday, July 31st.
Will you be checking out 25 Years of You or The Vacation Principle when they arrive on Netflix later this month? Let us know in the comments below!
