Chinese Video Site ‘bilibili’ Launches Global App in Japan — Android First

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On August 19, Chinese video-sharing service “bilibili” began rolling out its global app for Android. The service stands out for letting users sign up without submitting ID verification documents, and the thread ranged from wariness toward Chinese-made apps and comparisons to Niconico’s decline, to practical speculation that YouTube’s tightened monetization rules could push long-form creators to migrate there.

Chinese video-sharing service “bilibili” announced via its official X account on August 19 that it has begun offering a global version of its app. Only the Android version is available so far, and it can be downloaded from Google Play in Japan as well. An iOS version is expected soon.

The company touted several features of the global version: access to videos from around the world, optimization for users in each country, and a simplified sign-up process that doesn’t require submitting identity verification documents. It says it will keep improving localization and adding features going forward.

The global version’s icon is the same pink as the existing app, but has a small globe mark in the upper left corner to distinguish it. Bug reports and feedback are handled through the official Discord server, and the company plans to expand to more countries over time.

Source: itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

3Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:57:04.86ID:6m0PyeiP
Just block it already.
Our content gets shut down
while they get to run wild — come on.
4Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:38:22.17ID:89KGK9BI
This is basically positioned the same as TikTok, right?
5Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:43:44.18ID:foPrCk0F
Well, more video sites besides YouTube popping up is a good thing.
6Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:10:21.47ID:AhrysCH8
Niconico, which was supposed to be the original, is honestly so lame.
Natsuno blew money on pointless stuff
while slacking on server upgrades and system improvements,
so everyone turned their backs and left. (Natsuno = former Niconico/Dwango chairman Nobuo Natsuno)
8Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:48:15.70ID:adtnzdog
>>6
It's not that — it's simply that they've got no customers.
7Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:38:45.40ID:RW4kpPdU
I've got a huge pile of videos I favorited because they looked interesting, then never actually got around to watching.
Just found one about a guy walking all the way from Shanghai to Shenzhen.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1yh8w6RE4b/
9Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:52:32.46ID:xUi06UCT
Sounds like it's kind of a site like Niconico Seiga… (Niconico's illustration/manga-sharing platform)
10Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:56:49.88ID:izyOsK73
I wonder if you'd get banned for setting your birthday to 1989/06/04 or putting '8964' in your name? (references the June 4 Tiananmen Square date — a common censorship test on Chinese platforms)
11Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 03:22:09.50ID:Nm/i+1E5
Bet someone's gonna upload Winnie the Pooh videos lol (Pooh is censored in China over memes comparing him to Xi Jinping)
12Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 03:50:15.98ID:mrAuwreZ
The pirated, copyright-infringing uploads on this site are insane — nothing like what you see in Japan.
And yet it's weird that Sony has actually invested in it.
13Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 05:51:31.71ID:58YYJKWT
No way I'm installing some Chinese app, too scary.
15Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 06:20:30.54ID:m83IGnrV
>>8
The customers left because they strangled themselves.
16Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 06:26:27.75ID:FD6fZYrU
Guess I should just spam '6/4 Tiananmen' everywhere then?
17Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 07:33:53.57ID:VmGcj7fS
This is exactly why Android is no good.
Apple, don't you dare let this through App Store review.
18Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 07:55:17.24ID:cVzL/Xcd
Zoning out watching stuff like TikTok makes you dumber.
20Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 08:18:32.44ID:MPaioop2
Feels like it'll steal your personal info, so I'm not using it.
24Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 08:50:40.72ID:7a6Zdtz+
The original withers away while the company that copied it rakes in astronomical profits —
that's the gap between Japan and China.
25Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 09:16:27.94ID:krr35noB
>>24
Isn't that basically what Japan was doing about 40 years ago?
31Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:01:07.38ID:eyhy64jv
Just watch bilibili inside a sandbox.
32Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:26:41.10ID:+VahAja0
Long-form YouTube creators are pretty fed up right now, so if this becomes a place for them to migrate to, the timing might actually work out…
Since it costs no extra effort and there's zero downside, expect a wave of creators to just cross-post to both platforms while they wait and see.
33Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:29:06.34ID:js4IAC6I
When I hear "bilibili" I picture pirated anime uploads —
can you actually watch the newest anime on it?
35Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:06:55.65ID:AD0h2uu1
Let's upload some Winnie the Pooh.
37Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:30:32.59ID:BiFuqBMv
Scrolling text flying across the screen is way too annoying at this point.
38Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 12:58:19.81ID:+VahAja0
From a creator's perspective, Japanese content has been stuck in its own "Galápagos" bubble, and impressions have been treated poorly on YouTube.
With AI translation and dubbing, views should climb at least among audiences with similar grammar like Korea, or across Asian regions with high cultural familiarity, boosting playcounts
(like how Japanese-language posts are booming overseas on X right now).
Since both impressions and payouts weight retention heavily, long-form creators are bound to be interested.

And since YouTube picked this exact moment to raise the monetization bar and shut the door on newcomers, new long-form creators will naturally just start out on bilibili instead.
bilibili was definitely timing this lol
39Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 13:42:27.40ID:VmGcj7fS
>>38
No Japanese people are gonna flock to "Buri-biri" lol
40Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 14:10:39.28ID:+VahAja0
>>39
>>39
The monetization bar for new long-form creators just got twice as hard, and starting August 24 even existing creators face a downgrade where a click instantly counts as a view — which just tanks retention and squeezes revenue. So yeah, everyone's simply interested.
And thanks to TikTok, both creators and viewers stopped caring ages ago about whether a platform is Chinese lol
41Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 14:36:42.90ID:U0FTC6X9
The Japanese government knows the risks and just leaves it be — they're not just useless, they're actively harmful.
46Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 17:49:38.91ID:Kn09o67n
>>41
In the West, individuals and groups actually keep watch on this kind of thing,
but I never hear of Japanese people doing that.
42Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 14:46:09.09ID:PoMBvTp/
I don't touch software or sites made by the CCP so I don't really care, but I came by to see if there'd be any "wumao" comments here, and sure enough, there they are lol (wumao = paid pro-China internet commenters, the "50-cent army")
43Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 15:42:55.13ID:d8khToaR
Whatever happened to Niconico's patents?
44Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 17:30:51.67ID:e/gBWclm
I've had it installed since like 10 years ago, pretty impressive huh.
45Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 17:47:12.23ID:Kn09o67n
Isn't this an illegal site that infringes copyright?
If it lands in Japan, couldn't people sue for damages under Japanese law?
68Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 17:30:07.20ID:j8P9EluN
Bilibili, that takes me back.
Isn't that one of the companies from the early days of video-sharing apps?
People can just go watch it on their own, but lately they're saying weird stuff like it's "landing in Japan."
73Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 18:28:21.12ID:60s7Rkbu
>>68
As for services, Youku — which launched around the same time as YouTube — is probably the older one.
Youku used to be China's leading video-sharing service, but you don't hear much about it these days.
72Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 15:01:46.31ID:zcSHnqr+
No decent Japanese person installs Chinese apps lol
74Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 19:55:11.27ID:SKagbcfx
>>72
TikTok apparently has over 40 million users in Japan lol.
What even is a "decent Japanese person" lmao

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Business News+) thread「[IT] Chinese Video Site “bilibili” Launches Global App — Japan Rollout Begins with Android」.

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