Sesame Street in Japan

Japanese dub (1971–2004, 2020–onwards)

Sesame Street first aired on NHK on November 8, 1971, as one of the network's most successful imported children's programs. It was taken off the air in the early 1980s, then resumed from 1988 until the end of March 2004. Teenagers and adults also watched it to learn English. After a 16-year hiatus, Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate aired on May 16, 2020.

Japanese co-production

In November 2003, Asatsu-DK and Ve've acquired the master license from Sesame Workshop, and Sesame Street Partners Japan was founded the following year. The consortium also included Japan Keizai Company, TV Tokyo Broadband, and Odyssey Communications. A local co-production began airing weekly on October 10, 2004, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates, but was cancelled in 2007. The series focused on nature, imagination, independent thinking, financial literacy, ethics, friendship, and environmental issues.

It was in Japanese except for three-minute English lesson segments. Four new Muppets debuted: Teena, Mojabo, Pierre, and Arthur; in 2006, Grorie and Meg were added. Established characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster appeared in new segments. A script involving a child tripping during a race led to a dispute: Sesame Workshop insisted other characters help him up, but local producers deemed this unrealistic in modern Japanese culture.

The Japan Times reported low early ratings, with viewers complaining about voice differences from the NHK version and the exclusive use of Japanese.