In the mid-1990s, Japanese television produced two distinct live-action adaptations of Koji Suzuki's horror novel Ring. The first, a television film simply titled Ring, aired in 1995. This version closely follows journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa as he investigates the inexplicable simultaneous deaths of four teenagers, including his niece. His search leads him to a remote cabin where the group had stayed, and there he discovers a mysterious, unmarked videotape. Upon watching it, he receives a chilling phone call that leaves him with just seven days to live. Teaming up with his philosopher friend Ryuji Takayama, Asakawa races to unravel the tape's origin before his time expires, leading them to the tragic story of a psychic named Sadako Yamamura who was thrown into a well.

A more expansive and widely known television iteration is the 1999 series Ring: The Final Chapter, which aired on Fuji TV for twelve episodes. This miniseries takes significant creative liberties with the source material, reimagining it as a suspenseful drama rather than a direct horror piece. The protagonist remains a journalist named Asakawa, who discovers that a bizarre music video on a cursed tape is the catalyst for a series of inexplicable deaths occurring exactly seven days after viewing. The series shifts the narrative to focus on a broader ensemble of characters, including a younger generation, as they confront the spreading curse. A notable narrative arc involves the investigation leading to the resurrection of a character with psychic abilities, and the series culminates in a dramatic confrontation with the ghost of Sadako. Unlike the film adaptations, this version ends on a note that suggests the curse is not so easily destroyed, setting the stage for a direct sequel series, Rasen (also known as Spiral), which continues the story by introducing scientific concepts like viruses and cloning to explain the supernatural phenomenon.