Chinese Drama Twelve Letters Lands on WOWOW in Japan
The Japanese broadcast of a Chinese drama that earned a high Douban score and a strong emotional reputation signals continued demand for Chinese content on Japanese premium television, following a wave of recent Chinese drama acquisitions by WOWOW and other channels.
Reporting from 2 sources: Eiga Natalie, Yahoo! News Japan (Entertainment).
The Chinese drama "Twelve Letters" will premiere in Japan on WOWOW on May 22, 2026. The series stars Zhou Yiran as Tang Yixun and Wang Yinglu as Ye Haitang. It follows two timelines: in 1991, a boy working as a debt collector meets a girl living in poverty, and they write letters to their future selves through a mysterious red postbox. In 2026, another couple discovers the same postbox and communicates with the past pair across 35 years, uncovering a buried truth. The drama has a score of 7.8 on the Chinese review site Douban and has been called "the most tear-jerking drama of 2025." Zheng Hehuizi and Ren Youlun play the 2026 characters Yu Nian and Shen Cheng. The director is Sha Weiqi, and the screenwriters are Cheng Xiaomao, Cheng Mengyan, and Shen Siji. The 12-episode series will air two episodes every Friday at midnight on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand.
The 12-episode series will air two episodes every Friday starting at 0:00 on WOWOW Prime, with streaming available on WOWOW On Demand. Wang Yinglu, known for her role in the "Under the Skin" series, plays Ye Haitang, a girl suffering from her father's violence and living in poverty. Zhou Yiran, from "The Chao's Trajectory," plays Tang Yixun, a debt collector who vows to protect her. Zheng Hehuizi and Ren Youlun portray Yu Nian and Shen Cheng, the 2026 couple searching for their missing parents. The director is Sha Weiqi. The screenplay is credited to Cheng Xiaomao, Cheng Mengyan, and Shen Siji. The drama's original Chinese title is "十二封信." A trailer is available on the WOWOW overseas drama official X account. The announcement comes as several other Chinese dramas, including "Song of Laughter" and "Lychee of Chang'an," have recently landed on Japanese platforms, indicating a growing pipeline of Chinese content into the Japanese market.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Eiga Natalie 小林聡美主演、山田太一「岸辺のアルバム」舞台版がWOWOWで放送・配信（コメントあり）
- Yahoo! News Japan (Entertainment) 中国ドラマ「十二通の手紙」日本初放送、不思議なポストが35年の時をつなぐ【WOWOWで放送・配信】（映画ナタリー）