Starting Oct. 1, viewers in Japan will be able to tune in to such popular Home Box Office programs as "The Sopranos" and "Band of Brothers" via Jupiter Telecommunications Co.'s cable TV service.

HBO and J:COM signed a license agreement Aug. 24 that will allow the U.S. premium television service to provide 80 episodes of four programs each month — some of them never before seen in Japan — through J:COM's on-demand service.

American and South Korean programs already available in Japan, including on the major TV networks, have increasingly found an audience.