Prime Video Japan has a new Country Manager in the shape of Keisuke Oishi.
Effective today, the former Sony Corp exec will take on the post after rising through the ranks over ten years at Amazon. Oishi will report to Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President of Prime Video for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
He replaces Takashi Kodama, who left Prime Video late last year to lead Amutus Corporation, the parent of Japanese digital manga publisher Mecha Comic, according to Kodama’s LinkedIn posts. We’ve reached out to Amazon for clarity.
Media Partners Asia last year pegged Prime Video as Japan’s biggest streamer by subscribers, making Oishi’s new role a vital one for the Amazon business. He will oversee a business spanning SVOD, add-on subscriptions, TVOD and live sports. Amazon said he would “lead efforts to solidify its position as the first-choice entertainment destination for customers in Japan.”
Oishi was most recently Director and General Manager of Amazon Music Japan after being promoted in 2023. Having joined Amazon in 2014, he has held several major roles, including Head of the Software and Video Game division and Director of Entertainment Media. Prior to that, he worked at Sony.
Gandhi, who oversaw wide scale structuring in Asia last year as Amazon downsized its entertainment businesses, said in an email to staff today: “We’ve seen great success with our content and incredible customer growth for Prime Video in Japan over the last few years thanks to all your great work, creativity, and relentless focus on the customer. I remain super excited about the future of our Prime Video Japan business, especially with our plans and initiatives for 2025.”
Japan was the first country to run a version of Prime Video’s comedy reality series LOL: Last One Laughing, which is now in numerous Amazon streaming territories as a local format. The show began life in the country 2016 as Documental and next up is a British remake that’s launching this year hosted by Jimmy Carr. Graham Norton and Trevor Noah also present versions of the show.